Professor, Consultant, Researcher & Early Education Training Specialist
Toshiba L. Adams, PhD
Dr. Toshiba Adams is a professor, researcher and leader in the field of early education with more than two decades of experience in higher education and workforce development. She currently serves as a Professor of Early Childhood Education at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. At these institutions, she teaches courses in child development, valuing diversity, educational policy and urban education.
Dr. Adams began her journey in the field as the co-owner of a Milwaukee-based, NAEYC-accredited early education program, which she operated with her parents between 1997 and 2006. Located on Milwaukee’s northwest side, the program offered a culturally responsive and family-centered learning environment that served the educational needs of children and families in the community.
In 2022, Dr. Adams founded Sankofa Consulting & Training, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the workforce needs of early educators and the state leaders who serve them. Through Sankofa, she leads qualitative research studies, provides professional development and offers technical assistance to inform equity-centered policies and practices across states.
Her research explores the intersections of race, gender and labor within the early education workforce, examining how historical systems of colonization, racial capitalism and policy inequities continue to shape educators’ lived experiences. Guided by Black Feminist Thought (BFT), Intersectionality, Critical Race Theory (CRT) and community-based participatory approaches, Dr. Adams centers the voices and expertise of early educators - particularly Black women - to transform systems and advance racial and social justice in early education.
Peer-reviewed Publications/Book Chapters
Adams, T.L. (2024). Understanding family diversity: Cultural influences and inclusive practices in early childhood. In Amanda Dohms (Ed.). Family and community relationships. WisTech.
Adams, T.L. (2024). Exploring family: structures, trends, and influences on child development. In Amanda Dohms (Ed.). Family and community relationships. WisTech.
Adams, T. (July, 2024, under review). Honoring the voices of Hmong early educators and cultural caregivers in Wisconsin. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
Adams, T. (2025). Black Woman Fatigue: Workforce Stories Shared by Wisconsin’s Black Women Early Educators. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X251394076
Adams, T. (2024, under review). "They sexualized our bodies": Spirit killing, Black girls and the intersection between race, gender and school discipline. Urban Education.
Adams, T. (2023). Racial Battle Fatigue: Microaggressions and the experience of middle-class Black women who graduated from a predominantly Black suburban high school. Black Child Journal.
Adams, T. (2021). “I’m not one of them”: Tracking, racial identity and the psychological health of high achieving Black girls. The Journal of the Alliance of Black School Educators, 11(2).
Adams, T. (2023). Navigating the suburban terrain: Race, class, gender and high school inequality. Journal of Negro Education, 91(4), 542-543.
Adams, T. (2020). Moving in the right direction: Addressing the racial opportunity gap in education by creating culturally relevant early education programs. Childcare Exchange.
Farmer-Hinton, R. & Adams, T. (2006). Social capital and college preparation: Exploring the role of counselors in a college prep school for students of color. Negro Educational Review.
Adams, T. (2005). Class and schools: Using social, economic, and educational reform to close the Black-White achievement gap. Urban Education. Book Review.
Executive Summaries & Blogs
Adams, T. (2025). Executive Summary on Honoring the voices of Hmong early educators and cultural caregivers in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, Madison, Wisconsin, 1-11.
Hmong Executive Summary (forthcoming)
Adams, T. (2023). Executive Summary on Advancing equity in Wisconsin’s early education workforce: A narrative inquiry that centers the lived experiences of Wisconsin’s Black and Brown professionals. Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, Madison, Wisconsin, 1-16.
Women's History Month and Equity: Perspective from a Researcher
Board Membership
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (2020 - current)
Black Child Development Institute - Wisconsin, Board Member (2023 - 2025)
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, Board Member (2024)
T.E.A.C.H. National, Board Member (2023 - current)
King's Academy Christian School, Board Member (2024 - current)
We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society
-Angela Davis
