West End Native, Dr. Kenya L. Goodson is a Black History Maker

92.9 WTUG, Praise 93.3, and 105.1 The Block in partnership with Robinson Automotive, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, Delta Phi Lambda Chapter, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Eta Xi Omega Chapter, along with Lanier Automotive, Bryant Bank, and Dixie Motors in Northport, we are proud to salute, Dr. Kenya L. Goodson.

Dr. Kenya L. Goodson is a native of West End Tuscaloosa. She graduated from the Tuscaloosa City School system. She also has a B.S. in Chemistry from Stillman College and an M.S. in Environmental Management from Samford University.

Dr. Goodson worked for the State of Alabama, inspecting onsite sewage disposal systems in Tuscaloosa County. Her work in Tuscaloosa's rural community inspired her to pursue a career in environmental engineering to solve environmental health problems in rural and low-income areas. Dr. Kenya L. Goodson earned her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama, being the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in her department. Her dissertation research focused on the effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on the environment. As an environmental consultant, She worked on a major stormwater implementation plan to reduce major stormwater pollutants in the District of Columbia.

She acquired nine years of experience in wastewater management, stormwater quality, and environmental regulation before transitioning into academia. She currently serves as faculty at the University of Montevallo, where she teaches environmental science.

Additionally, she teaches science and mentors college-bound first-generation college students in the Stillman College Upward Bound program. When not teaching, Dr. Goodson volunteers for several environmental boards. She is the incoming Vice-President for the Black Warrior Riverkeeper Board of Directors. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cahaba River Society and Conservation Alabama. While serving on these boards, her focus areas are environmental education and outreach, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and environmental justice.

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She also volunteers her time doing lobbying engagements around climate change, voter outreach, and voter education. Kenya serves as co-leader of the Tuscaloosa chapter of the Citizen Climate Lobby, an organization that trains citizens to lobby for climate change legislation. Dr. Goodson is a Just Energy Academy 2020 Alumna sponsored by the Partnership for Southern Equity in Atlanta. She will be exploring solutions to energy burden disparities in disenfranchised communities in Alabama.

As an environmental educator, she is also developing lectures, public scholarship, and academic scholarship for the public, covering topics such as energy equity, climate change, food justice, water equity, and environmental justice.

When Dr. Goodson is not working, she enjoys discussing politics and fellowshipping with friends and colleagues. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is a bridge-builder of communities that don’t usually recognize each other. She coins herself as an educator, a scholar, and an advocate who empowers others to find their own voices through knowledge.