She is currently a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow. Her research and teaching focuses on U.S. urban history, African American history, and the history of education. She is completing a book, A Political Education: Black Politics and Education Reform in Chicago since the 1960s, which analyzes transformations in Black politics, shifts in modes of education organizing, and the racial politics of education reform from the late 1960s to the present. Professor Todd-Breland has also organized professional development workshops, curricula, and courses for K-12 teachers on critical pedagogy, African American history, urban education, and college readiness.