Derald Wing Sue

Derald Wing Sue grew up experiencing the kind of subtle, persistent slights that are easy for others to dismiss but impossible for the target to ignore. That lived experience launched a career that produced the foundational research defining microaggressions — and made Dr. Sue one of the most important voices in the modern conversation about race, bias, and inclusion.

The Researcher Who Named What Others Could Not Explain

Dr. Sue is a professor of psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the author of Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation, among other landmark works. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and a PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Oregon. In 1972, he and his brother co-founded the Asian American Psychological Association to advocate for effective mental health services for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

From Civil Rights Roots to Organizational Culture Change

His passion for the Civil Rights Movement grounded his decades of work in multicultural counseling and diversity training. He has served in multiple leadership roles within the American Psychological Association, including president of the Division of Ethnic Minority Issues, and has received awards for mentoring and professional leadership.

Dr. Sue’s keynote presentations give organizations the research-based frameworks they need to identify microaggressions, address unconscious bias, build cultural competence, and create environments where every person can contribute fully.

Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation, Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice,

Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation

Diversity