Welcome Dr. Evan Auguste
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Evan Auguste will be joining the Department of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice as a tenure track Assistant Professor this fall. Dr. Auguste is a clinical and forensic psychologist whose work is reshaping the field through a transformative lens of Black liberation psychology, community healing, and critical justice reform.
Dr. Auguste earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in forensic psychology from Fordham University in 2022. Since then, he has served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he directed the A.S.I.L.I. Collective—a research group dedicated to addressing the mental health consequences of structural anti-Blackness through community-based, culturally grounded interventions.
His research spans several critical areas, including the psychological impacts of racial trauma on Black youth, the mental health experiences of Haitian communities, and the development of anti-carceral mental health models. Notably, Dr. Auguste is a leading figure in the Sawubona Healing Circles initiative, a national program by the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) that fosters culturally rooted healing spaces for Black communities confronting racial trauma.
Dr. Auguste’s scholarship also critically examines the role of psychology in perpetuating anti-Blackness within research, clinical practice, and the criminal justice system. His co-authored work, “Psychology’s Contributions to Anti-Blackness in the United States” (Auguste et al., 2023) offers a compelling critique of the field’s complicity in systemic harm and calls for a reimagining of psychological practice rooted in equity and liberation .
As a Black/Haitian American scholar, Dr. Auguste brings a deeply personal and diasporic perspective to his work. His studies on Haitian mental health—including the role of spirituality and intergenerational trauma—have expanded understanding of resilience and cultural identity in both island and diaspora contexts .
Dr. Auguste’s arrival at John Jay will significantly strengthen our department’s commitment to social justice, culturally responsive care, and critical forensic psychology. His expertise will enrich our curriculum and research, particularly in areas related to racial trauma, decarceration, and community-led healing.
Please join us in warmly welcoming Dr. Evan Auguste to our academic community. We look forward to the profound impact his presence will have on our students, faculty, and the broader mission of justice-centered psychology.
For more information about Dr. Auguste’s work, visit his website at evanauguste.com.