Omari Keeles

Originally from Oakland, CA, Omari earned a B.S. in Psychology from Howard University and an M.P.H. from The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health. After completing his M.P.H., Omari was a public health analyst at the American Public Health Association and a research and health policy analyst at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. Following his employment in the public health sector, he continued his education and earned an M.A. and Ed.M. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College Columbia University and an M.S. in Psychology from the University of Michigan. He is currently a doctoral candidate in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology. His dissertation takes a person-centered approach to examining the relation between Black students’ social class identity and their psychological adjustment to predominantly White highly selective institutions. Omari also holds a certificate in French Language and Culture from the Université de Bourgogne (University of Burgundy) and participated in the Summer School on Black Europe in Amsterdam.

Omari comes to Northwestern with considerable experience with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and initiatives. At the University of Miami, he served as a program assistant for three summer pipeline research programs for students from underrepresented/nontraditional backgrounds. In this position, he was responsible for creating and facilitating seminars and workshops for the participants that covered a range of topics including the relation between the intersection of social identities (e.g., race, class, and gender) and adjusting to, as well as navigating, predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Omari worked for the Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context at the University of Michigan where he assisted with data collection and analysis for an NSF-funded project on Black students’ persistence in STEM majors. In his last role before joining Searle, he served as a program assistant and mentor for the University of Michigan’s Summer Research Opportunity Program, a summer research experience for undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds.

In his work at Searle, Omari will develop, implement, support and research short and long-term initiatives around inclusion, equity and diversity for educators at all levels, offering training around inclusive teaching, intergroup dialogues, and strategies for creating inclusive learning and research environments.