Bear Hugs Mother-Daughter Alums Share a Vocation—Forging a Special Bond Both have devoted their careers to helping kids succeed, with a focus on the needs of Black girls and their communities “Bear Hugs” celebrates heartwarming stories of Cornellians on the Hill and around the world. Have an idea? Email us at cornellians@cornell.edu! By Joe Wilensky Michelle Brown-Grant ’88 and Misha Inniss-Thompson ’16 both majored in human development and minored in Africana studies. Both pursued careers that have delved into education, childhood and adolescent development, and the building and sustaining of Black community. And both found influential mentors at Cornell and elsewhere—but Inniss-Thompson has had an invaluable resource that Brown-Grant didn’t: Brown-Grant herself. As Brown-Grant’s daughter, Inniss-Thompson has benefited from her mother’s experience, education, and guidance. Mother and daughter, with baby brother Tyree, at Cornell’s Ujamaa Residential College in 2006. Meanwhile, Brown-Grant has been inspired by Inniss-Thompson’s work as a Cornell faculty member and a leading researcher in her field. “I think about those ‘circles of influence’ in our lives; how who you are is informed by who is around you,” Brown-Grant says, referencing a human development course she took with famed professor Urie Bronfenbrenner ’38. “As it so often is for Black women, I’ve been so busy living my life and doing the work that I didn’t start reflecting on it until I started having conversations with Misha about it—and that has been a blessing.” A first-generation college student, Brown-Grant worked as a third-grade teacher (in the same classroom she’d attended in the Bronx) after graduation, going on to earn two master’s degrees, become a principal, and serve on the co-founding administrative team for a charter school network. I’ve been so busy living my life and doing the work that I didn’t start reflecting on it until I started having conversations with Misha about it—and that has been a blessing. Michelle Brown-Grant ’88 Today she’s a teacher-education professor and administrator at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University and is conducting doctoral research on Black women school principals in the Northeast and how their identities inform their leadership practices. Inniss-Thompson, who earned a doctorate from Vanderbilt, is an assistant professor of psychology who examines how communities, schools, and families shape Black girls’ wellness. She says she has always been drawn to questions of what it means to be a Black person navigating predominantly white spaces, exploring Black brilliance and beauty, and the mental health of adolescent Black girls in particular. “Our work feeds off each other,” Inniss-Thompson observes. “In so many ways, the educator that I am today is largely informed by the ways that my mom interacts with her students, the ways that she prominently displays positive representations of Black people and folks of color more broadly.” In 2022, Inniss-Thompson co-founded a working group in Ithaca that encourages self-reflection and community-building for Black women who work with Black girls. Posing for a pic in Hum Ec during Homecoming ’23. Her most recent research, based on an afterschool program she co-founded while at Vanderbilt, explores how Black girls create spaces alongside Black women that offer psychological safety and the ability to be their authentic selves. Brown-Grant’s current work also includes leading the New Jersey chapter of the National Black Child Development Institute. President of the Cornell Black Alumni Association (CBAA) from 2015–18, she has long been passionate about helping Black alumni reconnect with the University. Our work feeds off each other. In so many ways, the educator that I am today is largely informed by the ways that my mom interacts with her students. Misha Inniss-Thompson ’16 “Knowing I had access to a lot more opportunities than she did at the time really shaped my own trajectory,” Inniss-Thompson says. “I wouldn’t have been able to complete a PhD in five years if it weren’t for faculty pushing me and my mom saying, ‘you’re going to focus and finish your goal.’” While the two have not yet formally worked together, they often give feedback on each other’s research, and have attended the same conferences and watched each other present. At a meeting of the National Black Child Development Institute. “While she’s a teacher and I’m a community psychologist and a Black girlhood scholar, we still have these spaces of overlap,” Inniss-Thompson says. “We have both been passionate in thinking about, ‘How do we center Black girls and women in educational spaces?’” Top: Michelle Brown-Grant ’88 (left) and Misha Inniss-Thompson ’16 on campus during the 2018 CBAA Reunion. All photos provided. Published February 20, 2024 Comments Gail Sharbaan 24 Feb, 2024 Excellent article on two women i love with all of my heart!! Reply Michelle Bivins 27 Feb, 2024 Wonderful display of mother/daughter love, educational fulfillment, and career achievement. I remember when Misha was born and to follow so closely in her mom’s footsteps is such a blessing. Reply Beryl Jeffers, Ed.M. 28 Feb, 2024 What a beautiful mother-daughter relationship and black excellence! I love the support and encouragement from each other. 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