About: PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a psychotherapist at Manifesting M.E. Wellness. As a scholar, her research and teaching are shaped by and speak to Black Feminist Theory, Black feminist health and science studies, and sociocultural anthropology. Their doctoral research addresses how Black women define, access, challenge, and transform sexual assault interventions within and beyond institutional structures of care in LA County. As a clinician, their practice is rooted in and shaped by community exchange, African traditions, and Black liberation. She facilitates grief and trauma groups for Black women and offers individual and couple’s therapy sessions for people of color.

Fun Fact: I find healing and share care through weaving, braiding, sewing, and quilting yarn, fabric, beads, and images.

Research Interest: Black feminist anthropology, Black feminist healing arts, politics of violence and care, mental health care; United States

About: Third year Anthropology major and African American Studies minor. My career goal is to become a OBGYN.

Research Interests: My research interests focus on helping black women through the pregnancy process before and after labor care(Ex: PPD). In other words, creating access to resources. whilst analyzing the main issues concerning women of color in the US, and second and third world countries like Canada, UK, Nigeria who have constantly been ignored by their healthcare providers.

About: Fourth-year Global Studies major and Professional Writing minor. She is completing a Departmental Honors Thesis at the UCLA International Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Ugo Edu. Leila’s work analyzes existing literature on the well-being and healing of Black mothers and birthing people. She will produce a community-engaged global policy framework based on doula trainings and recommendations. She hopes her research can highlight the importance of Black women and birthing people’s personhood and healing in birthing spaces, contrary to current research, which commonly focuses on experiences of pain and harm.

Fun Fact: Outside of research, Leila is raising a guide dog named Vanilla, is a member of Survivors + Allies, and a CARE Peer Educator. She enjoys hiking, baking, cooking, and building legos in her free time!

About: Second-year psychobiology major at UCLA. I am hoping to minor in public health and African American studies.

Fun Fact: A fun fact about me is I have 2 French Bulldogs name T’Challa and Kash and 2 German Shepherds name Shaka and Shiloh.

Research Interests: I have a deep interest and passion for decreasing Black Maternal Mortality rates as well as growing a better understanding on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and if it affects women of color at disproportionate rates. 

About: 4th year Public Health Major

Fun Fact: I was born in Nigeria!

Research Interest: Researching body modifications in Nigeria and how body ideals have shaped aesthetics, health and influences in Nigeria.

About: High school student and aspiring researcher. Faye’s recent work includes a project on how forced migration transforms collective memory in diaspora and a study on cultural erasure and spatial equity in centralized urban planning. She attended the Telluride Association Summer Seminars at Cornell University, where she studied media, race, public health, and representation. Faye is the founder and editor-in-chief of Philozineia, a youth collective and zine, and leads her school’s Writing Workshop club. Passionate about experimental prose, spoken word, and filmmaking, she is committed to intentional community-building and curating spaces where youth feel seen. She also engages in mutual aid work and environmental justice organizing.

Research Interests: Faye hopes to further explore anthropology and communication through research and creative scholarship. Her current inquiry is about racialized cultural narratives of pain and clinical legitimacy for women of color.

About: Fourth-year student majoring in public affairs, education, and sociology. She is a recipient of the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service, allowing her to serve as a Global Ambassador Intern for BASICS International for in Ghana. With her interest in international education, Wheeler also interned for a human rights organization called Africa Unite based in South Africa. Currently, she serves as a research assistant in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, evaluating Black girls’ experiences with gendered racism in high school. Wheeler is also an academic mentor for UCLA Vice Provost’s Initiative for Pre-College Scholars where she supports Black students to become competitively eligible for admission to universities.

About: PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a psychotherapist at Manifesting M.E. Wellness. As a scholar, her research and teaching are shaped by and speak to Black Feminist Theory, Black feminist health and science studies, and sociocultural anthropology. Their doctoral research addresses how Black women define, access, challenge, and transform sexual assault interventions within and beyond institutional structures of care in LA County. As a clinician, their practice is rooted in and shaped by community exchange, African traditions, and Black liberation. She facilitates grief and trauma groups for Black women and offers individual and couple’s therapy sessions for people of color.

Fun Fact: I find healing and share care through weaving, braiding, sewing, and quilting yarn, fabric, beads, and images.

Research Interest: Black feminist anthropology, Black feminist healing arts, politics of violence and care, mental health care; United States

About: Fourth-year Global Studies major and Professional Writing minor. She is completing a Departmental Honors Thesis at the UCLA International Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Ugo Edu. Leila’s work analyzes existing literature on the well-being and healing of Black mothers and birthing people. She will produce a community-engaged global policy framework based on doula trainings and recommendations. She hopes her research can highlight the importance of Black women and birthing people’s personhood and healing in birthing spaces, contrary to current research, which commonly focuses on experiences of pain and harm.

Fun Fact: Outside of research, Leila is raising a guide dog named Vanilla, is a member of Survivors + Allies, and a CARE Peer Educator. She enjoys hiking, baking, cooking, and building legos in her free time!

About: Fourth year Human Biology and Society major and Public Health and African American Studies minors. I want to go to graduate school and earn my Master’s and Doctor of Public Health degrees in order to conduct research and pursue a career in public health – specifically community health, family health, environmental health, or health education. I am interested in public health because it is interdisciplinary, applies to several aspects of society, and would allow me to help improve the health and well-being of entire communities and populations, rather than solely addressing health issues at an individual level. Throughout my career, I especially want to work with, give back to, and make lasting impacts on Black, Brown, and working class communities.

Research Interests: I am interested in researching the ways in which science and technology intersect with culture, health, and social factors. I am especially interested in exploring how these intersections shape and relate to Black identities, as well as ways in which science and technology can be used in a liberating manner when rooted in Black feminist thought.

About: Third year Anthropology major and African American Studies minor. My career goal is to become a OBGYN.

Research Interests: My research interests focus on helping black women through the pregnancy process before and after labor care(Ex: PPD). In other words, creating access to resources. whilst analyzing the main issues concerning women of color in the US, and second and third world countries like Canada, UK, Nigeria who have constantly been ignored by their healthcare providers.

About: Fourth-Year African American Studies & Public Affairs Major, with a focus on Black incarcerated peoples.

Fun Fact: I have a blog where I write personal essays.

Research Focus: Layla’s current work examines the gendering and ungendering of the Black female body in carceral logic, the fugitivity and criminalization of Black transness, and the surveillance of the Black flesh. 

About: Fourth-Year Anthropology B.S. Major, with a focus on sociocultural anthropology.

Fun Fact: I teach weekly dance classes. My favorite styles to teach are hip hop and heels.

Research Focus: JaToya's current work with the Black ASH Lab involves supporting research efforts to understand the influences of body modifications in Nigeria, particularly those impacted by music and other new techniques. She contributes as a student researcher, where she utilizes her skills in website development, article coding, and interview translation to support the research team.

About: Fourth-year African American Studies Major, with a focus on gender-based violence and labor studies.

Fun Fact: She served as A Mellon Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Summer Collaboratory in 2021, researching communal loss through the lens of gentrification, gang violence, and its portrayal in the media.

Research Focus: Maryama’s current research with UCLA Initiative to Study Hate seeks to understand how online alt-right groups radicalize minorities, those particularly harmed and targeted by these groups’ violent rhetoric. She's a student outreach and program intern at UCLA's Center for The Advancement of Racial Equity.