Nathan R Todd

Nathan R Todd is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with an additional appointment as Professor in Gender and Women's Studies. He directs the Ecologies of Liberation Lab, which focuses on understanding how places, spaces, settings, and structures maintain oppression and facilitate liberation through an ecological and intersectional lens. His work integrates community psychology and liberation psychologies to promote wellbeing and social change.

Todd earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, complemented by dual M.A. degrees in Theology and Psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma. His educational background reflects his interdisciplinary approach that bridges psychological science with theological and spiritual dimensions of human experience.

Dr. Todd's research centers on sexual and gender minority health equity, particularly examining how religious settings and environments impact SGM spirituality and wellbeing. His lab investigates how open and affirming religious congregations develop and sustain their inclusive practices, while also developing tools to assess religious environments as forms of structural stigma contributing to health disparities. He also studies college campuses as social settings for promoting diversity and inclusion, White students' understanding of racism and privilege, and how religious settings foster social justice engagement. His ecological framework pushes beyond individual-focused approaches to examine the dynamic interplay between individuals and their larger social contexts.

An analysis of Todd's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on intersectional approaches to understanding oppression and liberation across multiple contexts. His work spans LGBTQ+ mental health, racial justice, religious environments, and educational settings, with a particular emphasis on structural and systemic factors rather than individual-level explanations. He frequently employs mixed-methods approaches, combining quantitative analyses with qualitative insights to develop more nuanced understandings of complex social phenomena.

• Fellow, Society for Community Research and Action (APA Division 27), 2021
• Early Career Award, Society for Community Research and Action (APA Division 27), 2018

Dr. Todd actively mentors graduate students and has secured significant research funding, including a 2022 Louisville Institute Project Grant ($29,980) for researching how congregations become LGBT Open and Affirming, and a 2012 Louisville Institute grant ($25,000) studying social networks in religious congregations. His lab includes students like Daniel Nguyen, Jaki Yi, and Emily Blevins who have produced notable research on topics including Asian American student activism, racial microaggressions, and White privilege awareness. Todd collaborates extensively with campus partners to evaluate diversity programming and its impact on student attitudes and behaviors.

The Ecologies of Liberation Lab operates with a mission to conduct socially relevant research that fosters critical reflection and motivates social change across multiple levels of analysis. The lab emphasizes collaboration, ethical sensitivity, and kindness in all its work, while actively promoting diversity and liberation in its internal operations. Current projects include examining state-level religious environments and their relationship to sexual minority mental health disparities, studying how racial-ethnically diverse sexual minorities navigate religious residue, and developing strengths-based ecological models for LGBTQ+ wellbeing.