Husain Lateef, PhD, focuses on culturally responsive research to enhance
social work practices, interventions, and preventive measures for youth of
African descent. His scholarship advances theoretical understanding and
scientific exploration of Afrocentric constructs, aiming to improve the success
of Black youths’ transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood. In 2023, he
founded the Afrocentric Youth Development Lab (AYDL) to further Afrocentric
youth research and inform social work practice with Black youth. Lateef’s work
also includes advancing research on reentry programs for serious juvenile
offenders, drawing from his experience as a social work supervisor for the
Arizona Justice Project’s Reentry Team.
