Dr. Carolyn Flynn Pusey Earns PhD in Organizational Leadership
Her dissertation explored “mom guilt,” intensive mothering, and the professional impact on Black women.
Congratulations are in order for Dr. Carolyn Flynn Pusey, who has recently earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Management and Leadership from Amridge University in Montgomery, Alabama.
Dr. Pusey holds a BS in Economics from the State University of New York-Stony Brook and an MS in International Business and Leadership from Manhattanville College.
Deeply influenced by her own experiences as a working mother, her dissertation, “Effects of Mom Guilt and Intensive Mothering on Black Women’s Careers: A Phenomenological Study,” explores the complex challenges faced by Black women balancing professional careers and motherhood. Drawing from both academic research and personal experience, her work examines how the “strong Black woman” trope creates internalized pressure to appear resilient and self-sacrificing. This expectation, her study finds, often conceals emotional exhaustion and contributes to stress and burnout as Black mothers navigate demanding careers alongside structural and racialized parenting responsibilities.
Rooted in a family legacy that places a high value on education and achievement, Dr. Pusey dedicated her dissertation to her support system: her parents, Philip and Demetria Flynn; her husband, Jay Pusey; and her four children, Jason Gonzalez and Jaliyah, Carter, and Cai Pusey. In addition to the heritage of her parents, Dr. Pusey is the granddaughter of the late Bennie Lee Lake and Carolyn Lake Nelson of Asheville.
The values Dr. Pusey learned and teaches about continue to resonate in communities like Asheville, where education, resilience, and generational progress remain central to community life. Moreover, her achievement represents not only a personal milestone but also a meaningful contribution to the study of work, family, and identity among Black women in today’s society.
