Sommer C. Blair, MSW, LISW-CP, is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, mentored by Dr. James Huguley. She is a community-engaged researcher, licensed clinical social worker, and racial justice practitioner whose scholarship examines how White individuals understand and challenge their roles in interracial families, multiracial communities, and historically White institutions such as churches, schools, and universities. Her work is grounded in critical consciousness, racial socialization, and community-based participatory methods, producing translational tools that support allyship, co-conspiracy, and systemic change.

Central to this agenda is the Parenting for Racial Equity Project (PREP), a first-of-its-kind, grant-funded intervention she founded and leads as principal investigator. PREP equips White caregivers to raise critically conscious, anti-racist children through a human-centered curriculum developed in collaboration with Parenting While Black and the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute. Preliminary evaluation data show promising gains in racial socialization practices, such as cross-cultural engagement and parent–child dialogue about racialized police violence. The program has been featured on NPR, adapted by community organizations and businesses, and now informs her dissertation on White racial socialization. She is dedicated to understanding how those in the racial majority can develop self-awareness, confront privilege, and contribute to dismantling inequality across family, education, and religious institutions.

Sommer’s teaching is informed by both practice and research, with a pedagogy grounded in transparency, trauma-informed methods, and experiential learning. She has taught across the BSW and MSW curriculum and is committed to mentoring the next generation of social work professionals and scholars. Her practice experience includes child welfare advocacy, clinical therapy, foster care case management, and licensure as a foster parent—experiences that continue to shape her perspective on inequality, resilience, and family systems. She earned her master’s in social work from the University of South Carolina, along with a graduate certificate in Drug and Addiction Studies, and also holds a graduate certificate in Community-Based Participatory Research and Practice from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health.

Recent Publications

1. Blair, S. C. & Schaefer, K. E. (in press). Parenting through polarization: Patterns and possibilities of White racial socialization directionality. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services.
2. Blair, S. C. (2025). Dismantling whiteness: Integrating White racial socialization into social work practice with children and families. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal (Advance online publication). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-025-01033-x
3. Blair, S. C. (2025). The parallels of assimilation and allyship: Implications for social workers moving forward. Journal of Social Work, 25(5), 640-660. https://doi.org/10.1177/14680173251318824
4. Blair, S. C., & Nichols, C. B. (2025). Conservative voices in social work education: A transformative approach to the classroom. Social Work Education. (Advanced online publication). https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2025.2514673
5. Blair, S. C., Schaefer, K. E., Abusuampeh, Kwasi, D., & Idoko, R. O. E. (2025). Learning from the next generation: Exploring engagement and insights from the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute. The Urban Review. 57, 573-596. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-025-00745-9
6. Blair, S. C. (2025). Feminist mothering in the academy: Learning under the leadership of Ida B. Wells. Ethics and Social Welfare, 19(2), 174-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2025.2502353
7. Huguley, J. P., Davis, C. D., Stief, E. M., Haynik, R. H., Henderson, M. A., DeBellis, B. R., Blair, S. C., et al. (2023). From practice-to-research-to-practice: Leveraging reciprocal partnerships to advance racial justice in education. Journal of Community Practice, 31(3-4), 338-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2023.2272744