Timothy D. Goler, Ph.D., MUPDD
Timothy D. Goler, Ph.D., MUPDD
Tim Goler serves as Associate Director of Research and Scholarship for the Center for African American Public Policy and Assistant Professor of Sociology and Urban Affairs at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia. As a thought leader, Tim continually fights to “level the playing field” by bringing educational opportunities and other issues facing racial and ethnic minorities in academia and community into focus. He takes an African-centered approach to deal with environmental and lifestyle problems, as well as the conditions, differences, and resources caused by long-term stressors like racism and discrimination.
With more than 25 years of hands-on experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Tim has focused his work at the interface of practice and research, with a particular expertise in the urban context. Early in his career, he taught Kindergarten and pre-K classes and served as the Director for Parent Involvement and Director of Operations, Student and Family Support for the Cleveland Municipal School District.
In the early 2000s, he provided technical assistance to school systems involved in the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation’s national school-reform efforts. He developed and implemented communication strategies and plans for the Norfolk, Virginia Public Schools and the Flint, Michigan Community Schools. In Ohio, Tim led the startup and implementation of Mosaica, a national charter school.
In 2004, Tim co-founded and served as the first Executive Director of PolicyBridge, a think tank designed to examine and analyze critical policy issues that impact communities of color, particularly African American communities. In 2011, he founded a national model for primary and secondary urban education called the HBCU Preparatory Schools Network, an extension of the history and rich tradition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
In one form or another, Tim’s entire professional life has been spent serving others. In 2019, the Mayor of the City of Cleveland and the Chair of the Cleveland Municipal School Board appointed him as a Commissioner on the Bond Accountability Board. He serves on the Visiting Committee for the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, Associate Editor for the Black Child Journal and as a Board Trustee for Milestones Autism Resources and the National Rites of Passage Institute. Tim also serves as Senior Advisor, Equity and Community Affairs at Morino Ventures and informally advises numerous organizations and individuals and is a Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
After his service in the United States Marine Corps, Tim received a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, Early Childhood Education from Norfolk State University and a master’s degree in Urban Planning, Design, and Development from the College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology with specializations in Medical Sociology and Aging and the Life Course, from Case Western Reserve University.