Alumni News

ALUMNI NEWS

FABIENNE DOUCET ’95

‘I really just want to mentor people.’

EXEC DIRECTOR BRINGS GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE TO MENTORING AT NYU

The Carnegie Corporation of New York recently named Fabienne Doucet ’95 one of its “Great Immigrants” of 2022.

Born in Spain, raised in Haiti and immigrating to the U.S. at age 10, Doucet finds herself in the company of 34 honorees, including TV host Padma Lakshmi.

With a long career in academia, she now works as the executive director of the NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools and as an associate professor of early childhood education and urban education at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. She began the director position in January and is working to make it her own, with an emphasis on mentorship.

“Mentorship is something that I find as a core identity for me,” she said. “I got this advice from a mentor when I was trying to decide whether or not to take this quest to lead Metro. What does a center director even do? He said, ‘You get to decide. That’s the beauty.’ I said to him, ‘I really just want to mentor people,’ and he said, ‘Then that’s what you’ll do. That’s what you’ll turn this position into.’”

So, she has put her energy into figuring out a way to continue to invest in the developing careers of researchers, policy-makers and those in government.

“Just thinking about ways that I can provide the setting and the structures and the supports to be able to help these folks grow their careers and move them in the direction they want. That’s a really high priority for me,” she said.

After graduating with a degree in behavioral science at Messiah, she received her master’s and Ph.D. in human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

“My major was behavioral science,” she said. “I ended up creating a major in child development and family studies by doing my child development classes at Philly [Campus] and the family studies on [the Grantham] campus. The power and influence of mentors can’t be overstated. I’m always reflecting on how I wouldn’t be where I am now without this person doing this and this person doing that. That’s probably why I value mentorship so much—because how much it has benefited me.”

She says being a student of color was not always easy, but she found a community that supported her along with encouraging faculty and staff.

“I am happy to see Messiah keeps on evolving in its journey for all of us,” she said. “You’re not going to get it right all the time.”

As she makes her way through her first year in her new role, it’s not lost on her that she’s the first Black woman to lead the Steinhardt Research Center.

“On one hand, I think it’s an amazing opportunity, and I really want to make the best of it. Also, it’s disappointing that it’s 2022 and it’s the first time a Black woman is leading a research center. I hope that at least by doing this, it opens the door for other Black women to lead,” she said. —Molly McKim ’23 and Anna Seip “THE POWER AND INFLUENCE OF MENTORS CAN’T BE OVERSTATED. I’M ALWAYS REFLECTING ON HOW I WOULDN’T BE WHERE I AM NOW WITHOUT THIS PERSON DOING THIS AND THIS PERSON DOING THAT. THAT’S PROBABLY WHY I VALUE MENTORSHIP SO MUCH—BECAUSE HOW MUCH IT HAS BENEFITED ME” —Fabienne Doucet ’95