Bio

Calvin Bradley Jr., PhD, CFLE, BCC, HEC-C, serves as Director of Education and Assistant Professor in the Department of Patient Counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where he also serves as faculty in the PhD in Health-Related Sciences program.

Dr. Bradley is a scholar, educator, healthcare ethicist, and board-certified chaplain whose work focuses on the intersections of spirituality, ethics, health equity, and conflict engagement in healthcare settings. He earned a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution with a concentration in Community-Based Conflict from Nova Southeastern University. He also holds a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Chaplaincy and Counseling from Campbell University Divinity School and a Master of Science in Global and International Education with a concentration in Peace Studies from Drexel University. He completed his undergraduate studies at East Carolina University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Studies, a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies with a minor in African and African American Studies, and a Graduate Certificate in Global Understanding.

Dr. Bradley completed his Clinical Pastoral Education residency at ECU Health (formerly Vidant Health) in Greenville, North Carolina, and subsequently served as Pediatric Chaplain for the James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital and Women's Services. In 2022, he joined VCU and VCU Health as Pediatric Chaplain Team Lead for the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, providing leadership in pediatric spiritual care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and family-centered care.

He is a Board-Certified Chaplain (BCC) through the Association of Professional Chaplains, a Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified (HEC-C) through the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH), and a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) through the National Council on Family Relations. Nationally, he serves as President of the Pediatric Chaplains Network and Co-Chair of the R.A.C.E. (Race and Cultural Ethnicity) Affinity Group within the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities.

Recognized as an emerging leader in healthcare ethics and health equity, Dr. Bradley is a two-time Hastings Center Sadler Scholar, an honor that supports and amplifies early-career scholars from historically underrepresented backgrounds in bioethics. He was also selected as a 2024–2025 Health Equity Faculty Fellow through the VCU Office of Health Initiatives and the Health Humanities Lab. Earlier in his career, he received Drexel University's 40 Under 40 Alumni Award in recognition of his professional accomplishments, leadership, and service.

Dr. Bradley's scholarship explores pediatric and rural health equity, health disparities, adolescent spiritual care assessment and interventions, healthcare communication, conflict in pediatric care settings, and the integration of ethics, spirituality, and conflict resolution in clinical practice. His work seeks to advance equitable healthcare delivery, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and amplify the voices and experiences of patients, families, and communities historically marginalized within healthcare systems.