Mindy Thompson Fullilove facts for kids

Mindy Thompson Fullilove (born October 15, 1950) is an American doctor known as a social psychiatrist. This means she studies how our surroundings and social lives affect our mental well-being. She is an expert on how things like our neighborhoods and cities can impact the health of entire communities.

Dr. Fullilove is a professor of Urban Policy and Health at The New School. She has studied the connection between the environment and mental health. Her work looks at how difficult experiences like violence, racial separation (called segregation), and big changes in cities can affect people's minds. She also researched serious illnesses, like AIDS, and how they spread in communities with fewer resources.

Early Life and Education

Mindy Fullilove grew up in Orange, New Jersey. Her father, Ernie Thompson, was a labor organizer who helped workers get better pay and working conditions. He was the first Black field organizer for his union. Her mother, Maggie, was a white woman from Ohio who worked as a secretary at the union hall.

Fullilove's parents were activists who believed in fairness. They led a successful effort in their town to desegregate the local schools, meaning children of all races could attend school together. As a child, she attended a Unitarian Universalist Church.

For her education, Fullilove went to top universities.

• She graduated with honors from Bryn Mawr College in 1971 with a degree in History.
• She earned a master's degree in Nutrition from Columbia University in 1974.
• She earned her medical degree (MD) from Columbia University in 1978.
• In 1984, she received a Board Certification in Psychiatry, which is a special qualification showing she is an expert in her field.

Career and Important Work

Dr. Fullilove has had a long and important career. From 1983 to 1990, she taught at the UCSF. In 1990, she began working at Columbia University as a professor. She stayed there until 2016, when she joined the faculty at The New School.

At The New School, she teaches about urban policy and health. She has been leading a project called 400 Years of Inequality. This project looks at important events in American history, starting from the year 1619, that have led to unfairness and inequality in the United States.

Helping Communities

Dr. Fullilove has used her knowledge to create projects that directly help people.

The CLIMB Project

In 2004, she helped start the CLIMB Project in Upper Manhattan, New York City. CLIMB stands for "City Life is Moving Bodies." It encourages people to be physically active and get involved in their community. The project works to make sure local parks, like Highbridge Park, are safe and welcoming for everyone. Because of this project, millions of dollars have been invested in improving the parks.

University of Orange

In 2007, Dr. Fullilove and other activists started the University of Orange in her hometown. It is a free school that teaches people how to get involved in their community and make it a better place. This is known as civic engagement. She is the President of the Board of Directors for the university.

Interdisciplinary Research Leaders

Dr. Fullilove is also part of a program led by the University of Minnesota that brings experts together to build healthier and fairer communities. Her project focuses on helping people in neighborhoods that are experiencing gentrification. Gentrification is when a neighborhood changes and becomes more expensive, which can make it hard for the people who have lived there a long time to afford to stay.

Honors and Awards

Dr. Fullilove has received many awards for her important work. Here are a few of them:

• She was made an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects in 2016.
• She won a Purpose Prize Fellowship in 2011 for her social contributions.
• Her short documentary film, “Urban Renewal Is People Removal,” won an award at the Trenton Film Festival in 2005.
• The American Psychiatric Association gave her a Minority Fellowship Achievement Award in 2004.
• She was named a National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences in 2003.