{"id":19016,"date":"2025-10-24T08:55:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=19016"},"modified":"2025-10-24T08:55:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:55:13","slug":"wilmington-university-prevention-science-alum-to-launch-nonprofit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/24\/wilmington-university-prevention-science-alum-to-launch-nonprofit\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilmington University Prevention Science Alum To Launch Nonprofit\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column19016_b76b42-26 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column19016_b76b42-26\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<p><strong>Dr. Foday Kamara<\/strong> will never forget the day he landed in New York City from Liberia: Feb. 4, 1999. Then 15 years old, he went from second grade back home to ninth grade in the United States \u2014 and passed every class.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor me, it\u2019s all about discipline,\u201d says Dr. Kamara, who owns a commercial cleaning business. \u201cIt\u2019s not how you start but how you finish.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That drive and determination led him to Wilmington University, where he recently graduated with a doctorate in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/dss.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Prevention Science<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Human Rights Education&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI believe that I became a better scholar and a better professional through this program,\u201d Dr. Kamara says. \u201cI think the skill sets and the knowledge I gained over the last three years will really help me change lives and help women around the globe.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inspired by his wife and female relatives, he&#8217;s organizing a nonprofit to support women who\u2019ve suffered human rights violations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDr. Kamara brings an international lens to prevention science and the power of personal experience with trauma,\u201d says <strong>Dr. Debra Berke<\/strong>, director of WilmU\u2019s Psychology programs and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/cps\/index.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Prevention Science<\/a>. \u201cHis insights, both personal and professional, plus his passion for promoting well-being for individuals and communities, will advance the field and contribute to the greater good globally.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Kamara calls Dr. Berke \u201cincredible\u201d and says, \u201cWithout her support, I would probably give up on this journey.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Social Science Education&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A member of <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/13\/pi-gamma-mu-at-wilmu-combining-academic-excellence-and-community-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pi Gamma Mu<\/a>, an international honor society for social sciences, Dr. Kamara also earned an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/mhs.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">M.S. in Homeland Security<\/a> from WilmU&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmu.edu\/behavioralscience\/indexs.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">College of Social and Behavioral Sciences<\/a>. He appreciates the University\u2019s flexible scheduling, accredited academics and dedicated faculty.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey are some of the best educators that any university can have,\u201d Dr. Kamara says. \u201cIt was the best decision for me, and I definitely recommend this program, this university to anyone. It\u2019s a wonderful institution.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kb-row-layout-wrap.wp-block-kadence-rowlayout.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f{margin-top:0em;}.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:center;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:center;}.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );max-width:var( --global-content-width, 1290px );padding-left:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-right:var(--global-content-edge-padding);padding-top:0em;padding-right:0em;padding-bottom:0em;padding-left:0em;grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr) minmax(0, 2fr);}.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f{border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr) minmax(0, 2fr);}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f{border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}.kb-row-layout-id19016_bcf9e1-8f{border-top:1px solid #eeeeee;border-right:1px solid #eeeeee;border-bottom:1px solid #eeeeee;}}.wu-text-col,.wu-img-col {\tmin-height: 114px;}.wu-text-col &gt; 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Then 15 years old, he went&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[286,1045,14,15],"class_list":["post-19016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-news","tag-college-of-social-and-behavioral-science","tag-human-services-degrees","tag-wilmington-university","tag-wilmu"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":145,"label":"ALUMNI NEWS"}],"post_tag":[{"value":286,"label":"College of Social and Behavioral Science"},{"value":1045,"label":"human services degrees"},{"value":14,"label":"Wilmington University"},{"value":15,"label":"WilmU"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Dr.-Kamara-1-480x480.jpg",480,480,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Mckayla Imperatrice","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/author\/mckayla\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":145,"name":"ALUMNI NEWS","slug":"alumni-news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":702,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":113,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":145,"category_count":113,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ALUMNI NEWS","category_nicename":"alumni-news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":286,"name":"College of Social and Behavioral Science","slug":"college-of-social-and-behavioral-science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":843,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1045,"name":"human services degrees","slug":"human-services-degrees","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1602,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":14,"name":"Wilmington University","slug":"wilmington-university","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":571,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":357,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":15,"name":"WilmU","slug":"wilmu","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":572,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":291,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19016"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19025,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19016\/revisions\/19025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}