Dr. Joseph Richardson, Jr. is the Joel and Kim Feller Endowed Professor of African-American Studies and Anthropology in the College of Behavioral & Social Sciences at the University of Maryland-College Park. This endowment supports his research on gun violence and trauma among Black boys and young Black men.

Dr. Richardson received his PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Rutgers University-School of Criminal Justice and his bachelor's degree in African and African-American Studies from the University of Virginia. He completed a Spencer Foundation Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Chicago and an NIMH clinical post-doctoral research training.

He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Anthropology (Medical) and a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Division of Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Richardson is currently the principal investigator for the UMB Center for Injury Prevention and Policy and the Violence Intervention Program (Baltimore) — a hospital-based violence intervention program at the University of Maryland.

Dr. Richardson is the executive producer and director of the award-winning digital storytelling project entitled LIFE AFTER THE GUNSHOT — which explores the social context of gun violence, trauma and the intersection of the health care and criminal justice systems among 10 young Black men survivors of gun violence in Washington, DC.