Safiya R. Omari, PhD

Safiya R. Omari, Ph.D. currently serves as Chief of Staff for Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. She served as Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs and an Associate Professor of Social Work and Health Sciences at Jackson State University prior to accepting her current position in Mayor Lumumba’s administration. Prior to her employment with Jackson State University, Dr. Omari served as Chair of the Psychology Department at Tougaloo College. She received her Ph.D. in Experimental Social Psychology from Northeastern University, and her research interests include mental health, effects of gender, race, and culture on health behaviors and psychological well-being, violence against women, and discriminatory stress.  Dr. Omari has published and presented nationally and internationally in these areas and she has been honored on numerous occasions for excellence in scholarship and teaching, and for her work in the larger Jackson community. Dr. Omari has always identified herself as a scholar/activist and continues to work with a number of community groups to address social justice and mental health issues. She also served as Chief of Staff for the City of Jackson under the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba. She currently serves as an officer and member of several non-profit boards. Dr. Omari is the proud mother of three children and has six amazing grandchildren.