Cheryl Tawede Grills

Dr. Cheryl Tawede Grills is a Full Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at Loyola Marymount University's Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts with 36 years of service. She founded and directs the Psychology Applied Research Center and established Imoyase Community Support Services, a 33-year non-profit providing action research and program evaluation to social justice organizations.

Her research expertise spans African Psychology, African Centered Treatment Models, and Community Mental Health with emphasis on addressing mental health disparities through community organizing and culturally defined interventions. She pioneered the Emotional Emancipation Circles model to combat racial stress and trauma among people of African ancestry, co-creating the South Los Angeles Healing Circles initiative to disrupt community violence.

Honors

• President’s Professor, Loyola Marymount University

Research Leadership

As principal investigator, Dr. Grills has led large interdisciplinary studies on mental health disparities, social determinants of health, and COVID-19's impact on communities of color. Her community-based participatory approach includes national multi-site research on violence prevention and positive youth development.

Policy and Community Impact

She served on California's Reparations Taskforce (2021-2023), serves on the National African American Reparations Commission and Los Angeles County Sybil Brand Commission, and co-led the Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection which established LA County's Office of Child Protection. Appointed to the Global Pan African Movement Governing Council and the 400 Years of African American History Commission, she continues shaping national reparations discourse.