Shirley Moody-Turner, Ph.D., is a long-time MVP Strategies trainer, award-winning educator, and critical race and gender studies scholar whose work provides a historical context for understanding perceptions of race and gender in contemporary culture. She began working in the sexual assault and domestic violence field as a trainer for the Athletes in Service to America program in 1995, leading workshops in Buffalo city schools on gender violence prevention, leadership, and diversity.
A former Division I college student-athlete, she has utilized her background and experience in sports culture, working for the past twelve years as a trainer and consultant utilizing the Mentors in Violence Prevention curriculum. In this capacity, she has delivered training and helped develop programming for a range of different populations in the U.S. and abroad, including college and professional athletes, coaches and administrators, community leaders and advocates, and personnel in various branches of the US Military.
She has worked with clients that include the SEC, Big Ten, Atlantic Ten, the NBA and MLB, as well as many other sports, community and professional organizations.
Shirley has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Literature and Language from the University of Maryland, and is an Associate Professor of English and African American Studies at Pennsylvania State University.