Meet Kenya

Kenya Tyson, JD is an internationally recognized social justice expert and higher education executive, with expertise in the field of race, crime, and inequality. Kenya is the Senior Associate Provost at Dartmouth College. In this role, she serves as the Provost’s chief advisor and oversees academic compliance, institutional research, resource planning, and operations. Prior to working at Dartmouth, she served in a number of executive leadership positions at universities, including at Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice, where she successfully led the university’s effort to develop a prison education program. In addition to her 20 year career in law and higher education, Kenya has consulted with courts and other government agencies across the nation on procedural justice and racial and ethnic disparity initiatives. She has worked with universities and human rights organizations around the globe, facilitating trainings on Title IX, crime prevention and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and has served in an advisory capacity for several professional organizations.

Founder and Executive Director

Kenya is the founder and Executive Director of The Black Massacre Project. The Black Massacre Project is an independent public research center that explores the historical race massacres perpetrated against black communities in the United States. The Project serves as an interdisciplinary nerve center that brings scholars, historians, activists, students, and community members together to engage in collaborative research and cultural exchange, and to explore the role of race-based violence in the greater context of American society. She is also the CEO & Principal of K.Tyson & Associates, LLC, which provides consulting services and technical assistance to government agencies, universities, and corporations.

Artist and Educator

Kenya is a fifth generation professional musician, trained in the jazz and classical traditions. In addition to earning a full music scholarship to college, Kenya toured internationally for years as a jazz musician and vocalist. Kenya frequently integrates her artistic practice into her research and teaching pedagogy. As a professor and researcher, Kenya walks the interdisciplinary line between the fields of criminal justice and law, engaging in public scholarship that explores the relationship between race and crime. She was recognized by the National Gang Crime Research Center as a recipient of the Frederick Milton Thrasher Award for her scholarship on gang courts and has presented her research at a number of international conferences.

Activist and Advocate

Kenya’s extensive service includes work with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), NJ LEEP (Law and Education Empowerment Project), and the Community Justice Advisory Board for the Essex County (NJ) Prosecutor’s Office. She currently serves as President-Elect for the Garden State Bar Association and as Co-Chair of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee for the Metropolitan Black Bar Association. Kenya serves as the co-director of the Public Education and Narrative Committee for the New Jersey Reparations Council and is a member of the Board of Directors for the International Commission for Dalit Rights, an international human rights organization that protects the civil and human rights of Dalit and caste-affected communities in South Asia and across the globe. A member of the Board of Directors of Descendants of Rosewood Foundation, Inc. She is a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness and the Review Board of Appeals for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).

Recognition and Awards

A Fulbright Scholar, Kenya has received recognition and awards in honor of her service and scholarship. She has been recognized by the Essex County New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and Lawyers of Color. Kenya is a fellow of the Higher Education Leadership Foundation. She was named one of the New Jersey Law Journal’s Diverse Attorneys of the Year and a Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice honoree for the NJ Governor’s Jefferson Award. Kenya is also a recipient of the Descendants of Rosewood Foundation, Inc.’s Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Gold Medallion.
Kenya earned a JD from Delaware Law School, an MS in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, and a BA in Political Science from Winston-Salem State University. Kenya is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

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