ABOUT

Dr. Kelisha B. Graves is an executive leader, strategist, and scholar who drives innovation at the nexus of education and social impact. She is the Chief Research, Education, and Programs Officer at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change ("The King Center"), where she leads a diverse portfolio of programs and initiatives in research, education, leadership development, and cultural heritage preservation. Dr. Graves is also an award-winning scholar and university professor. She holds a doctorate in education with a concentration in higher education. As a university professor, she has taught courses in History and Philosophy of Education, School Policy and Law, Teaching in Higher Education, research methods, and religion. As a dissertation advisor, she has chaired ten doctoral dissertations and served on more than fifteen committees, mentoring the next generation of educational leaders. 

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Her academic work bridges multiple disciplines, including educational leadership, African American philosophy and intellectual history, religious studies, and educational technology. Her research interests specifically spans three domains: History and Philosophy of Education, where she examines how African American philosophical and intellectual traditions shape education and justice movements; Educational Leadership and Transformation, where she explores higher education teaching and learning, educational technology, and innovative research methods—always asking how unconventional learning journeys can yield deeply valuable outcomes for students and communities; and, Comparative and International Higher Education, where she studies how universities worldwide are structured, governed, and connected, with a focus on Africa’s higher education landscape, the role of foreign policy in shaping educational opportunities, and strategies for advancing sustainable, cross-border collaboration.

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She is the author of Nannie Helen Burroughs: A Documentary Portrait of an Early Civil Rights Pioneer, 1900–1959 (University of Notre Dame Press, 2019). As the first book to compile Burroughs’s writings with interpretive commentary, its recognized for its significant contribution to intellectual history, American civil rights history, and women's history. Dr. Graves is also a co-founder of the Nannie Helen Burroughs Preservation Association, which works to safeguard Burroughs’ historic contributions, advocate for the preservation of related landmarks and archives, and promote public awareness of her enduring impact on American history. Her second book, Africa and America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities: From Shared History to New Opportunities (Routledge, 2026), examines the history and future of relationships between HBCUs and the African nations. The book highlights higher education as both a connector between nations and a catalyst for sustainability and justice. ​Notably, her research and writing have earned recognition both nationally and internationally. She's a past recipient of the Glen Earthman Award for Outstanding Dissertation from the International Society of Educational Planning (ISEP).​

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She speaks on a wide range of topics, including educational justice and leadership, teaching and learning, the role of AI in education, cultural heritage engagement and access, and the role of higher education in global sustainability and collaboration.

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Dr. Graves maintains a wide-angle lens on both the present and the future, and her work is consistently guided by a commitment to educational justice and to creating pathways that open doors, expand opportunity, and transform communities.