I am the assistant director and research scientist for the Initiative for Race Research and Justice (RRJ) with the Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. As the assistant director with RRJ, I assist with research initiatives dedicated to advancing literacy, leadership, and civic engagement skills for middle Tennessee youth, and with projects that seek to improve educational policies and the higher education climate for students, administrators, and teachers across the P20 system. I also oversee the RRJ Graduate and Professional Student Interdisciplinary Board for Racial Justice and Equity. In my previous role as a postdoctoral scholar and graduate assistant, I developed programs and conducted research geared toward graduate student development. I devote my career to fighting for justice with a keen focus on dismantling systems of oppression for people with marginalized identities. To maximize the impact of commitment to justice, I work with critical scholars, students, and community partners to create and sustain equitable policies and practices for minoritized people.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in African American and African Diaspora Studies and Psychology with a minor in Social Science and Medicine and a certificate in Neuroscience from Indiana University; a master’s degree in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on counseling and student affairs from Northern Arizona University; and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with a minor in College Teaching and a certificate in Qualitative Research, and Geographic Information Science from the University of Missouri.