Professional Biography
Dr. Chenelle S. Boatswain is Associate Director of the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. She also serves as a Lecturer in the School of Social Policy and Practice. A former K–12 school leader, Dr. Boatswain spearheaded a school expansion and the design of a middle school program for a K–8 charter school in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Boatswain has led and contributed to professional learning initiatives at Penn GSE with the Center for Professional Learning, Project-Based Teacher Certificate Program, Urban Teacher Apprenticeship Program, the Penn Futures Project Alliance for Graduate Practice, and the Learning, Teaching, and Literacies Division. Additionally, at the University of Pennsylvania, she has led initiatives to advance academic achievement and belonging as a graduate advisor with College Houses & Academic Services and as a learning specialist with the Weingarten Center.
Dr. Boatswain earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston College and her master’s degree in education focused on prevention science from Harvard University. She completed her Ed.D. in educational leadership at Penn GSE where was recognized with the Dissertation Manuscript Merit Distinction, Dissertation Defense Merit Distinction, the James Brister Society Graduate Student Leadership Award, Graduate School of Education Outstanding Service to Students Award, and as a finalist for the Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students, reflecting her enduring commitment to student success, inclusive leadership, and institutional transformation.
Dr. Boatswain’s research explores how institutional practices shape the advancement, sustained success, and visibility of leaders at the intersection of race and gender, with a focus on minoritized leadership in higher education. Her work has been presented with the American Education Research Association, University Council for Educational Administration, National Women’s Studies Association, and Black Women’s Studies Association. She has a forthcoming special issue article with Dear Higher Education: Letters form the Social Justice Mountain (University of Minnesota Libraries), and solo-authored chapters for edited books Thriving in Higher Education: Uncovering Institutional Counter-Stories through Abolitionist Feminist Mentoring (Information Age) and Microaggressions Faced by African American Faculty in Higher Education.
