about me

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Dr. Taylor Cummings brings more than a decade of experience across K–12 education, higher education, research, public policy, and community leadership. She serves as the Director of Research for Future Kings, where she leads program evaluation and research initiatives supporting STEM equity and youth development. Her work has also spanned multiple school districts, where she supported students’ academic, behavioral, and social-emotional development through trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices. These experiences shaped her understanding of how systems influence learning and well-being and continue to inform her work across educational and community spaces.

As a scholar-practitioner, she has contributed to the development of a belonging measurement tool, co-designed a district-wide social justice curriculum, and co-authored a peer-reviewed 

Urban Education article examining belonging and student engagement. In higher education, she has taught undergraduate courses in critical thinking, interpersonal communication, research methods, and debate, supporting students’ academic development and critical consciousness. Dr. Cummings also served as an Assessment Lead for UNLV Student Affairs, creating a division-wide framework integrating wellness, belonging, and equity metrics, and contributed to strategic planning as part of the inaugural DEIJ Office in the UNLV College of Education. Additionally, she served as a Student Advocate with the UNLV Boyd School of Law’s Education Advocacy Clinic, providing direct support to students navigating educational barriers and institutional challenges.

Dr. Cummings’ expertise extends into policy and governance through qualitative research with The Lincy Institute, where she examined crisis response, public health communication, and organizational learning for state and regional leaders. She also co-designed and supported the implementation of a restorative justice initiative funded by the Nevada Department of Education aimed at reducing discipline disproportionality and advancing healing-centered school practices. Beyond research and policy, she contributes to community-based healing and leadership as a Jameson Fellow with Compassionate Las Vegas and as a member of the December 6 Memorial Committee at UNLV, supporting long-term remembrance and trauma-informed community care.

Her professional work extends to national and global platforms through the Woman Ambassadors Foundation, where she engages in international dialogue on equity, environmental justice, and policy. In addition to speaking at their Annual Conference, Dr. Cummings has delivered invited talks for UNLV’s Black Mini Con on The Miseducation of Black America, served as a keynote for the Southern Nevada Black Educators Initiative, and presented for organizations such as Stopping the Violence. She also serves on the APA Division 15 Public Outreach Committee and was an invited panelist for an APA Division 15 webinar on the use of social media in psychological research. Dr. Cummings has presented research at major national and international conferences, including AERA, ASHE, the International Conference of Urban Education, SCIPIE, and others. Her perspectives on education, community well-being, and healing have been featured by CNN, Rolling Stone, Nevada Current, KSNV News 3, and additional media outlets. She also contributed to a gun violence prevention roundtable with Congressman Maxwell Frost, offering insights on community safety and systemic transformation.

Across all areas of her work, Dr. Cummings remains committed to creating environments where people feel seen and empowered to reclaim who they are beyond the systems that shaped them.