My story...
I have always been interested in understanding the effects of diversity on society, both in and outside of the United States. As a child growing up in predominantly white spaces, I did not fully comprehend my “otherness.” The desire to more fully comprehend theories of race and class led me to matriculate to Spelman College. In the spring of 2012, I graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in International Studies.
After graduating in 2012, I completed an internship at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) in Washington, D.C., where I researched the racial-gender wage gap. Immediately following my time at IWPR, I completed a two-year Fulbright Fellowship in Pernambuco, Brazil. This experience allowed me to further understand how race and class affected countries other than the United States. My time in Brazil led me to complete the M.Sc. in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford. After completing this degree, I immediately enrolled in the sociology Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley as a Chancellor’s Fellow.
My current doctoral research explores black entrepreneurship in the knowledge economy, including motivations for engaging in such activity, how we navigate entrepreneurial spaces, obtain legitimacy, and how these experiences vary by geographical context.
I also have experience researching and speaking on the role of race and class in shaping notions of (social) citizenship, identity, and social cohesion within and outside of the workplace. See some of my work!
Outside of academia, I enjoy running, traveling (I've been to 30 countries and counting!), reading Brazilian Portuguese novels, and exploring the city of Oakland.
