In our conversation with Shipley alumna Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite ’99, she talks about her own experience as one of the few black students during her time at The Shipley School. We explore the cumulative effects of racial trauma on students’ ability to learn, the importance of representation in education, and how to counteract implicit bias in schools, as well as the potential mental and physical health impacts of racism.

Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite is a medical doctor and nationally-recognized and Board-Certified Adult, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatrist. She’s also the CEO and Founder of Well Minds Psychiatry and Consulting. She has expertise in Perinatal and Postpartum Mental Health, trauma-informed care, mental health in communities of color, school psychiatry, implicit bias, and racism in mental health. Dr. Christian-Brathwaite was selected as a member of the inaugural class of the Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership program, sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Physician’s Foundation, and speaks frequently on topics ranging from implicit bias in schools to combating racism in medicine.