Lorraine C. Taylor

Dr. Lorraine C. Taylor became executive director of the Juvenile Justice Institute (JJI) in July of 2016.  A researcher, former faculty member and program developer, she brings over 25 years of professional experience to this position. She earned a B.S. degree from Howard University and a Master's and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

Her work is guided by a risk and resilience perspective that focuses on promoting success for young people with limited economic and social resources.  Her work emphasizes a “systems” perspective that focuses on how institutional, community, family and individual-level risk and protective factors operate in shaping outcomes for marginalized, underrepresented youth.  During her career, Dr. Taylor has supervised undergraduate and graduate students (including Master's and Ph.D. students), and she remains dedicated to serving the needs of students at NCCU. 

She has also worked in private industry, as well as in the Durham community, where she directed an initiative on “opportunity youth” that brought together community stakeholders, the non-profit sector and local government.  She is a successful grant writer and program director.  She has published research on topics such as rural community engagement, academic socialization, parenting in the context of economic hardship and promoting social and emotional competence for boys of color.  Dr. Taylor’s diverse research background and strong interdisciplinary experience will be useful in building relationships between JJI and other departments on campus, as well as fostering collaborations with regional, state and national partners in the JJI community.