Jelani Mandara is a family and developmental psychologist. His primary research examines the nature and effects of socialization, father’s involvement, and how they interact with gender, race and SES to impact youths’ academic and social development. He is currently implementing and evaluating a culturally sensitive parent training intervention he developed called B-PROUD. This particular prevention-intervention is focused on mothers of African American sons and covers important topics such as general parenting styles, academic socialization, proactive racial socialization, and boys' development. He and his students also examine how differences in parenting and other family factors account for ethnic and gender disparities in achievement and the likelihood of engaging in risky behavior. He regularly teaches courses and conducts workshops on African American child and adolescent development and effective parenting. He also consults for different schools and non-profit organizations on ways to increase minority achievement. He and his wife Keisha have three adolescent sons and a one-year-old daughter.