Karen T. Craddock, PhD, EdM

Executive Director of Programs and Community Initiatives

Dr. Karen T. Craddock is an Applied Psychologist, EQ Practitioner, and Coach. Her expertise in social-cultural contexts and relational frameworks are linked to growth and development along the lifespan and across sectors. Her work seeks to deepen and expand impact at the nexus of cultural/emotional intelligence, leadership, and well-being. Karen’s explorations of narrative, wellness, and growth are featured in her consultancy, writing, direct practice, and leadership which include senior roles at Education Development Center, Presidential Administrative Fellow at Harvard University and with the National TA Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention.

Dr. Craddock is a developer of several applied frameworks that combine psycho-emotional constructs with integrative applications to use in personal, interpersonal, educational, and organizational development. She was co-developer of the Six Seconds International EQ global forum Lift Every Voice and is President of KCollaborative Connections coaching and consultancy. Karen is Founding Partner/Co-Executive Director of The Wellness Collaborative, Inc. focusing especially on integrating cultural modalities of healing, expressive arts, and behavioral health.

An enrolled citizen of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, she was the Inaugural Tribal Community Member in Residence at Brown University and is on the Native American Advisory Council for University of Massachusetts Amherst. While Visiting Scholar at Wellesley College Centers for Women she focuses on Black-Indigenous women’s lives. Among her publications, blogs and editorial works include Black Motherhoods: Contours, Contexts and Considerations, Transforming Community: Stories of Connection through the Lens of Relational-Cultural Theory and Social-Emotional Learning During COVID-19 Crisis. A forthcoming collection of poetry will feature both prose and artwork.

She is on the Board of Directors for the Reconciliation and Restoration Foundation aimed at resourcing Black-led non-profits, and on the leadership team of the BIWOC Gathering Circle for which she was the 2022 NorthStar Award recipient. Dr. Craddock has served as reviewer for the NIMHD Caribbean Exploratory Research Center and is a member of the Massachusetts Health Council Strategic Planning Committee. She is the PI for the United Way funded project Exploring Culturally Responsive SEL, chair of equity & inclusion for SEL4MA, and National Advisor for SEL4United States.

Dr. Craddock is committed to liberatory expression, action, and advocacy. She is informed and inspired by her journey as a catalyst, connector and creative and most committed to her anchoring goal to “alleviate pain and elevate joy”