Kesha Moore, Ph.D., is a Senior Researcher and Development Specialist with LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute. Prior to joining LDF, Dr. Moore was an Associate Professor at Drew University, where she taught Sociology of Race & Ethnicity, Urban Sociology, Engendering Prisons and Social Movements as well as created numerous campuses-community connections that engaged faculty, students, and community-based organizations in meaningful collaborations for social justice. Her research focused on exploring the role of structural racism in creating and replicating the social problems of mass incarceration, gentrification, and homelessness. Dr. Moore has extensive experience working with marginalized communities in the design of innovative solutions to the problems of racial and economic inequality.
At Drew University, Dr. Moore was a founding member of the College Bound Consortium: a coalition of higher education institutions that provided AA/BA degrees to incarcerated individuals before the reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility in 2019. Most recently, Dr. Moore founded and led Neighbors in Need, a community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) project, designed to provide housing for chronically homeless individuals within Morris County, NJ.
Dr. Moore received her BA in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Franklin & Marshall College, her Masters of Social Work in Community Organizing from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the recipient of the Drew University’s 2016 Faculty Engagement Award, the 2010 Community Development Award from Phi Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and the 2005 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, and Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel Spirituality and Social Justice Award from Drew University. Her favorite pastime is coaching women of color to live passionate, productive, and purpose-driven lives.
