“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
– Maya Angelou

My name is Daphne C. Watkins. I am a professor, founder, author, executive coach, and strategist extraordinaire 🙂

I hold several appointments at the University of Michigan, such as University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the National Center for Institutional Diversity and the Letha A. Chadiha Collegiate Professor of Social Work at the School of Social Work. I am also a Faculty member in the Sanger Research Lab at the Ross School of Business. I teach graduate-level courses on research methods, social equity and equality, community-based interventions, and social impact leadership and management. I also mentor several students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members at colleges and universities worldwide.

I am the founding director of the Certificate Program in Mixed Methods Research, the Gender and Health Research (GendHR) Lab, and the award-winning Young Black Men, Masculinities, and Mental Health (YBMen) Project. 

When I am not working on my university assignments, I serve as director of the Research Leadership Institute, which offers leadership and management workshops, as well as executive coaching services, to research institutes and centers across North America.

I am also the Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit organization kNEWjoy.