Renae D. Mayes, PhD, LAC, NCC is a Professor of School Counseling & Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. She was previously an Associate Professor and Director at Ball State University in the School Counseling Program. She completed her Ph.D. in Counselor Education at The Ohio State University where she was a Todd Anthony Bell Fellow. Dr. Mayes completed degrees at the University of Maryland, College Park (M.Ed. in School Counseling) and University of Missouri (B.S. in Middle School Math and Social Studies Education) where she was a McNair Scholar. Dr. Mayes was also Gates Millennium Scholar as an undergraduate and graduate student. Dr. Mayes’s line of research focuses on gifted education, special education, urban education, as well as students of color in K-12 schools. She is currently investigating intersectional Black joy across school, community, and family context. Recently, Dr. Mayes was awarded the 2019 Muncie Chapter of the NAACP Presidents Award and was also awarded the Ball State's Teacher College Research Award. Dr. Mayes was featured in DIVERSE Issue in Higher Education for winning the  2015 dissertation of the year by Division E of the American Educational Research Association.  In 2016, Dr. Mayes was named one of Muncie Magazine's top 20 under 40 leaders in East Central Indiana. IN 2024, Dr. Mayes was named an Emerging Scholar in Diverse Issues in Higher Education and also received the Excellence in DEIJ Counselor Education from the Association for Counselor Education & Supervision. Dr. Mayes teaches courses related to school counseling, cultural identity, educational equity, and leadership.