Dr. Carolyn L. Robertson Payton was born on May 13, 1925 in Norfolk, Virginia. She is known for her innovations in counseling and psychotherapy for Black patients, as well as for being both the first Black person and first woman to direct the United States Peace Corps. Payton attended Bennett College and graduated with a degree in Home Economics in 1945. She then studied Psychology at the University of Wisconsin where she received her master’s in 1948. After graduating Payton worked as a psychologist at Livingston College and taught at Elizabeth City State Teachers College, both in North Carolina. In 1959 she finished a PhD program at Columbia University and became a faculty member at Howard University. She was director of Howard’s Counseling Service from 1970 to 1977 and Dean of Counseling and Career Development from 1979 to 1995. It is in these jobs that she was able to develop better techniques for helping Black patients, such as the use of group therapy.Payton first joined the Peace Corps in 1964 and was named Country Director for the Eastern Caribbean in 1966. She left the position in 1970 but came back to the Peace Corps in 1977 when former President Jimmy Carter appointed her as director. However, Payton was pushed out of this position after only one year. Her developments at Howard were adopted by the American Psychological Association, of which she was also a member. She served on many of the APA’s committees such as the Task Force on the Psychology of Black Women, and the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Concerns Committee. Payton was awarded the APA’s Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service Award in 1982 and the APA Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology in 1997. Her legacy continues with the organization; the APA now offers the Carolyn Payton Early Career Award.
