Dr. Shauna M. Cooper

Dr. Shauna M. Cooper is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of the Strengths, Assets, & Resilience (StAR) Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Developmental Psychology. Her expertise includes examining how culture and context (family; school; community) impact the development of African American children, adolescents, and families. Her work spans multiple areas (e.g., positive youth development; parental involvement; father engagement; gender-related processes; youth community involvement) and has been published in a variety of scientific journals, including the Journal of Adolescence; Journal of Research on Adolescence; Journal of Youth and Adolescence; Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology; Family Relations; Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. In support of this work, Dr. Cooper has received funding from a number of agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In her spare time, Shauna enjoys genealogy, photography, and spending time with family.