Dr. Christie Ann Cruise, Ph.D., is a dedicated educator, author, and social justice advocate. Her
commitment to empowering Black women and girls is evident in her roles as a mentor with the
Reach & Rise Program of the Gateway Region YMCA, an advisory board member for the Nia
Kuumba Spirituality Center for African and African American Women, and treasurer for the
Young Ambassadors of the YWCA of Metro St. Louis. She has also volunteered for the Raising
St. Louis Program at St. Louis Children's Hospital, demonstrating her dedication to her
community.
Dr. Cruises poetry, reflections, and self-portrait photography have been published in Gumbo
Magazine, Remington Review, Gallery & Studio Arts Journal, Sunspot Literary Journal, Kitchen
Table Quarterly, Black Minds Mag, the International Women's Writing Guild (IWWG) anthology
Heels into the Soil, and the IWWG Network edition Our Stories, Ourselves: Narratives from
Black Women in Africa and America. Dr. Cruise has also contributed to blogs for the Black
Mental Wellness Corporation, The Healing Collective Global, Spoken Black Girl, and Hallmark
Mahagony. She was a Peyton Evans Artist in Residence (PEAR) at the Studios of Key West from
December 2021 to January 2022. She is a recipient of the 2024 Artist Opportunity Grant from
the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
Dr. Cruise was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. She received a Bachelor of Science from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Science from Eastern Illinois
University, and a Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University.
