About

Alexander J. Holt is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Wake Forest University and a doctoral candidate in Sociology — with a doctoral portfolio in African & African Diaspora Studies — at the University of Texas at Austin.

His interdisciplinary work bridges sociology, Black studies, critical pedagogy, and social work, examining how systems of power shape Black diasporic vulnerability and agency, with particular attention to trauma, care, and wellbeing. His dissertation examines the school bus as a developmental site in the American South.

Originally from North Carolina, Alexander works to elevate community-rooted knowledge toward more equitable educational and social systems. He is an American Sociological Association Minority Fellow (Cohort 52) and a Research Fellow at the Center for Educational Improvement.

As a teacher, Alexander centers culturally competent, trauma-aware instruction and the wellbeing of students of color, approaching the classroom as a site of care as much as instruction.

CERTIFICATIONS

• 20252025Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment · Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina
• 20242024Inclusive Course Design · Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin
• 2024–20272024–2027Youth Mental Health First Aid · National Council for Mental Wellbeing
• 20242024Advanced Teaching Preparation · Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin
• 20242024Teaching Preparation · Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin
• 2023–Present2023–PresentC-SSRS (Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale) · Columbia Lighthouse Project
• 20222022Inclusive Classroom Leadership · Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, UT Austin
• 20202020Graduate Teaching Assistant Pedagogue · Faculty Innovation Center, UT Austin

AFFILIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS

• 2025–Present2025–PresentMember, Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina
• 2025–Present2025–PresentStudent Member, Society for the Study of Social Problems
• 2024–Present2024–PresentStudent Member, American Studies Association
• 2022–Present2022–PresentAffiliate, Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, UT Austin
• 2019–20202019–2020Member, Southern Demography Association
• 2018–Present2018–PresentMember, Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society
• 2018–Present2018–PresentStudent Member, Association of Black Sociologists
• 2018–Present2018–PresentStudent Member, American Sociological Association