Sybil Madison-Boyd

Sybil Madison-Boyd is a systems change research-practitioner with over 25 years of experience enabling institutions to achieve positive outcomes for under-resourced youth and families. A clinical and community psychologist by training, Dr. Madison-Boyd leverages her academic training to facilitate the translation of research into effective practice in urban schools and communities.

Currently the Director of the Learning Pathways Program at Digital Youth Network in the DePaul University College of Computing and Digital Media, Dr. Madison-Boyd leads a team that investigates how to better design and connect learning experiences for youth in ways that help them develop pathways to college and career. Dr. Madison-Boyd also leads the non-technical aspects of the implementation of Chicago City of Learning, a city-wide effort to address the opportunity gap between more- and less-resourced youth in Chicago.

For most of her career, Dr. Madison-Boyd has led, coached, and provided professional development to principals, teachers, social support staff, and teams to improve instruction, student learning, and achievement outcomes through the use of data and evidence-based strategies. She also founded the ChicagoQuest campus of the Chicago International Charter School – an innovative 6th-12th grade school that was organized around systems thinking and game design principles.

Prior to her school transformation work, Dr. Madison-Boyd was a research assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago engaged in training clinical psychologists and social workers, conducting applied and preventive research, providing clinical interventions to children and families, conducting qualitative classroom-based research, and developing school-, family-, and community-based, collaborative approaches to HIV prevention.

Dr. Madison-Boyd earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with honors, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with a focus on Community Psychology, from the University of California at Berkeley.