DR. NADIA WARD, CHIEF ACADEMIC ADVISOR

Nadia L. Ward, M.Ed., Ph.D. is the Director of Urban Education & Prevention Research at The Consultation Center and Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry. Ward is the principal investigator and creator of the MAAX (Maximizing Adolescent Academic eXcellence) Program. Her extensive work in the area of academic achievement for African American and Latino youth has spanned 12 years and has included training and consultation to universities, public school systems, and private organizations.  She has also focused on curriculum development, program development, implementation, and evaluation. Dr. Ward has worked with high risk as well as high achieving urban youth and their families in a variety of capacities.

DR. FREDDYE DAVY, CHIEF ACADEMIC ADVISOR

Dr. Freddye Davy is director of Hampton University’s Honors College and the founder and executive director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Honor Society, a program for pre-college students promoting scholastic achievement, leadership development, and active involvement in positive community activities. Prior to her post at Hampton University, Davy spent seven years at Benedict College in Columbia, SC and more than thirty-four years of service to public schools in Arkansas, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. Her expertise in educational leadership resulted in the implementation of several community outreach programs and a course designed to address African American students’ performance on state mandated examinations.

ELIJAH HEYWARD, III, DIRECTOR OF THE YOUTH SCHOLAR ACADMEY

Elijah Heyward, III created the model for the Youth Scholar Academy as a Yale President’s Public Service Fellow. He is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Hampton University’s Honors College, where he majored in History and completed the William R. Harvey Leadership Institute. While in divinity school, he worked in the Bridgeport and New Haven Public Schools as a MAAX (Maximizing Adolescent Academic eXcellence) facilitator and served as coordinator for the MAAX summer program and the Transition to High School Project.