Before coming to Baylor, Boddie was an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis and also served as a fellow at Carnegie Mellon. She currently serves as professor extraordinarius at the University of South Africa. She also serves as a faculty affiliate at Washington University’s Center for Social Development.

Boddie has co-authored several books and edited volumes, including The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership; The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare; The Other Philadelphia Story: How Local Congregations Support Quality of Life in Urban America; Faith-Based Social Services: Measures, Assessments, and Effectiveness, and Racialized Health, COVID-19, and Religious Responses: Black Atlantic Context and Perspectives. She has also co-produced four short films, most notably the musical documentary, Unfinished Business: From the Great Migration to Black Lives Matter. Her work has been published in Time, Religion News Service, Urban Faith, The Fulcrum, Portland Press Herald, and other outlets.

Dr. Boddie’s research at Baylor includes partnering with students like Ana O’Quin, one of three nationwide recipients of the 2019 Hatfield Student-Faculty Research Prize. The study — “The Hidden Epidemic of Teen Food Insecurity” — focused on Waco teenagers’ access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that offers nutrition assistance to eligible, low-income individuals and families.

In 2019, Boddie led a group of Baylor graduate students from the School of Education, Truett and the School of Engineering and Computer Science to build a greenhouse and expand the outdoor learning environment at Connally Elementary School in Waco. Those efforts were inspired by Boddie’s previous work with faith leaders and schools in Pittsburgh. The Baylor course, “Education from a Gardener’s Perspective,” taught graduate education and seminary students in settings that helped them re-imagine the garden and translate these insights into a new vision for education.