Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
3-2026
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1470-8583
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Dr. Jennifer Butcher
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Dr. Karmyn Downs
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Dr. Dianne Reed
Abstract
This qualitative narrative inquiry study examined the lived experiences, challenges, and leadership practices of Black women nonprofit leaders in the northeastern United States. Guided by Black feminist thought and positive leadership theory, the study explored how participants’ identities informed leadership enactment and how positive leadership practices influenced organizational impact and change. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 11 Black women nonprofit leaders and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns across participant narratives. Findings aligned with four research questions. Participants described unique experiences characterized by identity as power, cultural bridge-building, and the weight of representation. Key challenges included funding inequities and experiences of tokenism and devaluation. Positive leadership practices were reflected through relational-centered leadership, emotional leadership, and growth-oriented adaptive leadership. Finally, participants described leveraging identity-informed leadership strategies, relational accountability, and leadership legacy practices to enact organizational change and performance. The study contributes to nonprofit leadership scholarship by centering Black women’s leadership epistemologies and documenting how relational and identity-informed leadership operates within inequitable organizational and funding environments. Implications include recommendations for nonprofit organizations, boards, funders, and leadership development programs to recognize relational leadership labor, address inequitable funding practices, and implement culturally responsive supports for Black women leaders.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Stanley Wesley, Erika K., "Women Working Well: The Experiences of Black Women Nonprofit Leaders in the Tristate Area" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1007.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/1007