By Parmitha Chanduri
Photography by Joshua Franzos
At the heart of Paula Marie Powe’s work lies a simple but powerful belief: Early intervention can change the trajectory of a child’s life. As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, as well as an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Powe has dedicated her career to understanding and preventing early childhood trauma—especially within Black and brown communities.
“So much of what we see later in life,” she explained, “can be traced back to those first few years.”
Her passion for this field began with a personal encounter during medical school. When she learned that a close study partner had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of his childhood experiences, Powe became deeply interested in how early trauma shapes mental health over time. That experience, coupled with her exposure to communities in Washington, D.C., the Bronx and New Haven, Connecticut, revealed the disproportionate burden of adversity among children of color. According to a study, published by Morsy and Rothstein in 2018 and reinforced by Sacks and Murphey in 2019, early childhood adversity and toxic stress occur more frequently in Black and low-income families than in other families.
“Black and brown people are so used to trauma, so much so that they might not recognize something as being traumatic because it happens to them consistently,” she said. “If there’s always a shooting around your neighborhood, at some point you become emotionally numb to it, even though it is indeed very traumatic and scary for a young kid.”
On Friday, Nov. 21, Powe will present “Black Dads Matter: Engaging Black Fathers in Community-Based Participatory Research to Enhance Father-Child Relationships” as part of the 2025 Senior Vice Chancellor’s Research Seminar Series. (Join the lecture here.) One of the most pressing issues in Powe’s research is the lack of representation and inclusion of Black fathers in early childhood programs.
“In many parent support spaces, fathers are invisible,” she noted. “And when they do show up, the programs often aren’t designed for them.”
This exclusion, she argues, not only harms fathers but also limits children’s developmental outcomes.
To counter this, Powe has turned her attention toward early childhood home visiting, an intervention model that pairs families with trained professionals who offer parenting support and developmental guidance. However, she quickly noticed that these programs, often led by non-Black women, struggle to engage Black fathers.
“There’s a trust gap,” she said. “When the workforce doesn’t reflect the communities they serve, cultural competence becomes essential.”
Her response was to design a Black father peer mentorship program, built in partnership with a community advisory board.
“Black fathers deserve a safe space to share their experiences,” she said.
The program recruits fathers from the community to mentor one another, providing both social support and parenting education. Importantly, every step of the design process involves community input.
Powe also recognizes the subtle forces that shape fathers’ participation in family life. She spoke about maternal gatekeeping, the societal and relational dynamics that can limit fathers’ involvement.
“We need to normalize fathers’ roles,” she said. “Black fathers are deeply invested in their children, but the systems around them don’t always affirm that.”
For Powe, the most rewarding part of her work has been building relationships with her community partners.
“Our advisory board members are the backbone of everything we do,” she said. “Their insight, trust and commitment make this work possible.”
She views her efforts not just as research but as a movement toward primary prevention—addressing adversity before it begins.
“Ultimately,” Powe reflected, “it’s about helping fathers be the best they can be for their children.”