Carla Stephens

Dr. Carla R. Stephens holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History as well as a PhD in History from Temple University. Her areas of interest include the transnational nature of the black freedom struggle in the 1950s-1970s, particularly activism by African Americans in the liberation struggles of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa. She also earned her Master of Science in Educational Leadership at Montclair State University. Carla became founding faculty at Bard High School Early College in Newark, NJ, in 2011 and served as principal from 2017 to 2023. She brings leadership training and experience from four years at the United States Naval Academy, National Urban League training, as a manager for AT&T, as well as an educational leader to her current position as Director of the Bard Queer Leadership Project at Bard College at Simon’s Rock.