Dr. Joyce Hope Scott is associate professor of American Studies at Wheelock College, Boston. She is a nationally and internationally recognized educator, scholar, and activist in the field of African American, African, and diaspora studies. She is a former Fulbright professor to Burkina Faso and Benin, West Africa. Dr. Hope Scott has presented numerous scholarly papers and workshops and lectured widely across the United States, the Caribbean, and around the world. She has worked with teachers in Massachusetts and across the country, as well as in West Africa, on professional development in diversity and multiculturalism. She is the current president of the Boston Pan-African Forum and vice-president and co-founder of the international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Hope for Africa. Dr. Hope Scott is the recipient of many awards and recognitions and the author of numerous publications on African American women writers and African diaspora literatures and culture.