Dr. Chenelle S. Boatswain

Scholar, speaker, and leadership strategist empowering Black women to be as uncompromising about their well-being as they are about their success. 

Dr. Chenelle S. Boatswain is a scholar, speaker, educator, and master facilitator dedicated to advancing the sustaining success of Black women leaders. Grounded in the belief that success shouldn’t cost you yourself, she translates research into experiences that transform isolation into collective strength and create the conditions for Black women to thrive.

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With more than 20 years of leadership experience across K–12, nonprofit, and higher education, Dr. Chenelle works at the intersection of education, leadership, and organizational development. Her work has included leading the expansion of a K–8 charter school, designing identity-conscious learning experiences for educators and social workers, coaching hundreds of graduate and professional students, and developing innovative professional learning and leadership programs. Today, she brings that breadth of experience to speaking, consulting, facilitation, and teaching.

Her scholarship draws on Black Feminist Thought and Critical Race Feminism to examine Black women’s leadership experiences, resilience practices, and the power of protective professional communities to sustain success. Her research includes “Protecting the Unprotected: The Power of Peer Mentorship in a Professional Counterspace for Black Women,” a chapter in Thriving in Higher Education (Emerald, 2026), which explores peer mentorship and community as critical resources for Black women navigating higher education. Her dissertation, Thriving Together: A Phenomenological Study of the Contributions of a Professional Counterspace to Black Women Higher Education Leaders’ Cultivation of Resilience, earned double merit distinction for both the manuscript and defense. Her scholarship has been presented nationally with the American Educational Research Association, National Women’s Studies Association, Black Women’s Studies Association, and Association for Black Women in Higher Education. 

Dr. Chenelle is the founder of Thriving Together™, a movement, philosophy, and community that brings her scholarship to life through culturally affirming experiences grounded in witnessing, connection, collective care, and sustainable success. 

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A proud daughter, sister, auntie, and fur-mama, Dr. Chenelle brings as much enthusiasm to dance floors and boxing rings as she does to her work. She holds a Master of Education from Harvard University, and Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.