Waltrina E. DeFrantz-Dufor, Ph.D., is the Director of the Collegiate Recovery Program at the University of Denver in Denver, CO, and uses the pronouns she/her/hers. She has over 18 years of experience in helping people in recovery from addiction during her 25-year tenure in higher education in student and academic affairs. Waltrina lost a 20 year-old son to opioid overdose and is passionate about demystifying barriers to recovery equality for African American people and the systemic oppression which supports stigmatization and holistic disparities. Dr. DeFrantz-Dufor holds an academic appointment through the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education graduate school as an associate faculty member. Waltrina is the co-author of a book chapter “Direction Along the Path: Mentoring and Black Female Administrators,” in Pathways to Higher Education Administration for African American Women.
She serves on the Colorado Behavioral Health and Wellness Summit planning committee, the Colorado Black Health Initiative, the executive board for Montbello Walks in Colorado – a non-profit food and wellness organization for African American families, and as an executive board member for the national Association for Recovery in Higher Education. In addition, Waltrina is working with Dr. Noe Vest at Standford University on an NIH grant to address the criminalization of addiction. Dr. DeFrantz-Dufor is currently earning a master’s degree in counseling psychology to provide grief, trauma, and recovery counseling for African Americans affected by the disease of addiction.
Special accomplishments/skills
- Grew the Collegiate Recovery Program at the University of Denver from 3 to 30 students in less than two years.
- Chair for the Recovery Weekend in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia;
- Chair for the 23rd Annual Southeast Woman to Woman Conference with the intention of bringing recovery to the women of West Virginia;
- Created a service-learning course for students to collaborate with sober living recovery house residents; and
- Nominated for the AREA Secretary service position in West Virginia; and served as General Service Representative (GSR), Intergroup Representative, District Secretary, and founder of registered recovery groups in Indiana, Georgia, and West Virginia, and knowledgeable about living the steps, traditions, and concepts.
Professional Interests: Recovery advocacy and education, overdose prevention, grief healing, addiction nutrition, student success and persistence, intersectionality of race, class, gender, politics, African American mental health, appreciative inquiry, and social justice.
Professional Experience: Serves as the first Director of the University of Denver Collegiate Recovery Program since it opened its doors October 2018. She has worked in a variety of institutional types where she served as the Interim Dean of Academic Affairs at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, program coordinator of a doctoral program in Higher Education, Director of Student Development at the Morehouse College, Associate Dean of Students at Taylor University, and a mental health provider for Westbrook Health Services Amity Treatment Center.
Personal Interests: Waltrina finds solace and peace through reading, yoga, meditation, cycling, body pump, and playing her son Mikal in chess, cards, and dominoes.
PhD Higher Education – Leadership, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN
MS Organizational Management, Misericordia University, PA
BA Communications, The Pennsylvania State University – University Park, PA