Carolyn Tubbs, Ph.D. (Purdue University) (CO-director of Research and Publications, IFS). Dr. Tubbs is currently contributung to Research Initiatives at St. Maryís University, San Antonio, Texas.

She earned her masters degree in Human Development and Family Studies at Texas Tech University and her doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy at Purdue University.   Dr. Tubbs completed her doctoral internship in marriage and family therapy at the Houston-Galveston Institute. She is an Approved Supervisor and Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). In addition, she is a member of AAMFT's Minority Fellowship Program Advisory Committee and Elections Council, as well as a Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) site visitor. She also served on the board of the Ontario Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and was its annual general meeting chair.

Dr. Tubbs was a Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow at Penn State University for the Welfare, Children and Families:  A Three City-Study, a multi-site ethnographic study on welfare reform. As part of her work, Dr. Tubbs has examined facilitators of family stability, family rituals, and parenting in low-income families. Dr. Tubbs has also been involved with the National Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community in researching the causes and solutions to domestic violence in African American communities located in both urban and rural regions throughout the United State, including San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Her research interests include qualitative research methodology, shared parenting among couples with a history of intimate partner violence, health care disparities, mental and physical health issues, and parenting in low-income populations. Currently, she is collaborating with the Institute for Family Services on evaluation and dissemination research.

Dr. Tubbs has served as Faculty Mentor for honors undergraduates at the Schreyers Honor College (2000-2002); Board Chair, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis (2006-2007); and member of the University of Guelph's Research Ethics Board (2007).

Dr. Tubbswas an Associate Professor in the Programs in Couple and Family Therapy Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Tubbs is the author of “From Critical Consciousness to Action:  Alliance for Racial and Social Justice’s Participatory Action Research.”

Paper Abstract:
The Cultural Context Model (CCM) is a systemic family therapy model that examines relational issues through the lenses of power, privilege and oppression, while emphasizing solutions based on critical consciousness, empowerment and accountability.  As a result, CCM’s tangible impacts reach beyond the clinical setting and individual families, creating a non-traditional link between family therapy and the community.  This presentation examines the development of a participatory action research (PAR) project that emerged from a CCM-community partnership focused on addressing intimate partner violence as a social justice issue. Presenters outline the evolution of their PAR, as well as findings and future directions.