Dr. Leeja Carter believes sport and exercise are not only personally enriching, but can transform families and communities. Her work addresses gendered racism in sport, historical and contemporary representations of Black women’s “strength,” and culturally responsive health and sport psychology approaches for women of color.
Dr. Carter has presented nationally and internationally as well as published peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and popular articles on topics related to feminist sport psychology, black feminist politics, social justice, feminist leadership, gendered racism in sport, inclusion and diversity. In 2019 she published Feminist Applied Sport Psychology: From Theory to Practice, an edited text addressing intersectional feminist, womanist and black feminist praxis in sport psychology. In 2018 she was awarded the Fulbright Specialist Scholar award and served as a Visiting Scholar at London South Bank University (LSBU) on the “This Girl Can” project, where she consulted on the center’s work addressing cross-cultural barriers to exercise engagement amongst racial and ethnic girls residing in the region.
A Fulbright Scholar, feminist changemaker, and expert on inclusive and equity-focused practice in sport and health, Dr. Carter’s work has been featured on CNN’s Connect the World, Black News Channel, NPR, Salon.com, Self Magazine, Livestrong, Bustle, Women’s Health, Pride Magazine, Beauty INC and Psychology Today.
Dr. Carter is also founder and executive director at the Coalition for Food and Health Equity, and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)’s first Diversity and Inclusion Executive Board division head. She received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a post-master’s certification in exercise science from California University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in kinesiology with a concentration in the psychology of human movement from Temple University.
Research Interests
- Feminist sport psychology
- Black feminist politics
- Social justice
- Feminist leadership
- Gendered racism in sport
- Inclusion and diversity
