Kayla Richards (she/her/they), MSW, is a proud citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and has lived in the Twin Cities since 2006. Kayla is a licensed mental health professional and has worked with youth in both acute mental health settings and within larger county institutions with her current position in community engagement and research management with the Minnesota Justice Research Center, and within Hennepin County's Behavioral Health Youth Justice Program Area. Kayla has a deep practice interest in youth work, as well as organizational leadership and coaching within an anti-racist and decolonial framework. Her research interests include youth group violence and dyadic attachment intervention, as well as restorative practice implementation. Kayla also currently teaches at The University of St. Thomas in the BSW and MSW programs.
Kayla received her B.S. from Macalester College in 2010 and her MSW at the University of St. Thomas & St. Catherine University in 2017—Kayla is currently pursuing her PhD in the School of Social Work at the U of M. Kayla hopes to build her capacity for multidisciplinary approaches to adolescent wellness, particularly for those youth who are currently experiencing disrupted attachments and with involvement in the youth criminal legal system.