Theresa Y. Ford

Educator with extensive experience at various institutions of higher learning, specializing in teaching, curriculum development and academic advising. Proven ability to design engaging courses and implement effective research methodologies, fostering student success. Committed to enhancing educational experiences through innovative instructional technology and personalized support.

• Compiled and Directed 'Our Voices', a critically acclaimed original presentation inspired by Nikki Giovanni’s, Racism 101.
• Performed at notable national and local conferences and community events including Grossmont College, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

• 1997, Grossmont College President's Leadership Award
• 1997/98, Grossmont College Distinguished Faculty
• 1998, International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence
• 2000, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) —American Studies
• 2002, Academic Rank Professor
• 2009, Excellence in Teaching Award
• 2017, Distinguished Faculty
• 2018, Professor Emerita

• 2010, Paris, France, To study under the tutelage of Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature, Toni Morrison.
• 2016, New York, USA, Served on panel: a Principal Discussant: Toni Morrison and Her Role as Editor.

• Summer 2000, International Conference on The Blues Tradition, College Station, PA
• Spring 2002, International Symposium on the Art, Life and Legacy of Langston Hughes, Lawrence, KS
• Summer 2002, Afro-Cuba: History, Arts and Culture, Havana, Cuba
• Spring 2003, Year of the Blues Symposium, Oxford, MS
• Summer 2003, National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa
• Fall 2003, Langston Hughes National Poetry Project
• 1996-2006, Gwendolyn Brooks Writers’ Conference on Black Literature and Creative Writing, Chicago, IL
• Spring 2010, American Literature Association, San Francisco, CA, Boston, MA
• Summer 2010, Making the Wright Connection, Lawrence, KS
• Fall 2010, Race & Pedagogy National Conference, Tacoma, WA
• Fall 2010, The Sixth Biennial Conference of the Toni Morrison Society, Paris, France
• Summer 2011, Cambridge Teacher Seminar, United Kingdom
• Summer 2012, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)—Fellow, Savannah, GeorgiaAfrican American Gullah/Geechee Culture
• Summer 2013, 20th Anniversary of the Toni Morrison Society, Oberlin, OH
• Summer 2014, 60th Anniversary of the Japan Black Studies Association
• Fall 2014, Furious Flower Poetry Center
• Summer 2015, Hip Hop in the Heartland Educators Institute, Madison, WI, received certificate to teach Hip Hop Culture
• Fall 2017, International Conference on the Blues, Cleveland, MS
• Summer 2019, Kyoto, Japan, Selected presenter: Introducing an Introduction to Teaching African American Literature
• Summer 2021, The Beauty of Blues Music for Classics for Kids/San Diego Symphony affiliate
• Summer 2021, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)—Fellow, Chicago, Illinois, Modernism 1893-1955
• Fall 2022 San Diego County Bar Association: Dialog on Diversity: Colorism, San Diego, CA
• Summer 2023, Global Seminar (Summer) AFRAS 300: Afro-Brazilian Community, Culture and Identity
• Winter 2024, Acorn Review Literary Journal, Selected for publication/Drama 'Down on the Suwanee'
• Spring 2025, Norton Anthology of African American Literature, 4th Edition, Survey Respondent Acknowledgement
• Spring 2025, Black in America, 2nd Edition, Survey Respondent Acknowledgement