Gabriel Lockett, Ph.D. (He/Him) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and the director of the Belonging, Advocacy, Liberation, and Love (BALL) Research Collective. He holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Florida, as well as an M.S. in Counseling Psychology and a B.S. in Biology from Tennessee State University.
Dr. Lockett is deeply committed to cultivating affirming spaces that prioritize the wellness of Black-Afro-diasporic and LGBTQ+ communities. His research focuses on:
- promoting health equity among BIPOC LGBTQ+ populations;
- exploring strength-based approaches to coping with violence, discrimination, and oppression within Black LGBTQ communities; and
- developing translational interventions for individual and collective wellness and liberation through community-based participatory research.
His work specializes in qualitative methodologies and is guided by strength-based, community-centered, social justice frameworks rooted in Black feminist praxis.
Dr. Lockett’s contributions to the field have received both national and local recognition, and his peer-reviewed scholarship has been published in leading national and international journals. He received the 2025 Schumacher Award for Outstanding Dissertation in the Department of Psychology at the University of Florida and was honored with the 2024 Inaugural Dr. Thema Bryant Decolonization and Liberation Psychology Scholar Award at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention. Additionally, during his doctoral program, he was a McKnight Doctoral Fellow. Prior to joining NYU, he served as a lead researcher with the Collective Healing and Empowering Voices Through Research and Engagement (¡Chévere!) Lab at the University of Florida partnered with the Wellness, Equity, Love, Liberation, and Survival (WELLS) healing center, and served as a consultant for Trans Lifeline.