Meet Our Team

My interests focus on the integrated pathways of ethnic-racial racial identity and critical consciousness development among Black and Latinx youth. As a postdoctoral scholar, I use assets based approaches to highlight the link between ethnic-racial identity, critical consciousness, and STEM based achievement and activism. I love the insights that the young Black changemakers are providing for the future of civic engagement and activism, and is excited to learn more. 

I am a third-year graduate student in Education at UCLA. Before arriving in Los Angeles, I taught high school Social Studies for five years in Rhode Island. I joined this project because I love working with and learning from young people. I look forward to learning more from young Black LA changemakers!

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Social Welfare at UCLA. My work to date has focused on working closely with young people who have had histories of involvement with the child welfare system in order to complete research on issues that impact them and advocate for change. Becoming civically engaged during my high school years greatly impacted my trajectory and I look forward to learning from young people how we can provide more support so more black youth can have these types of positive experiences.

I am PhD student at UCLA studying youth political behavior and engagement.  My work focuses on issues related to race, justice, and democracy.  I am excited to be a part of this project.

I am a third-year PhD student in Social Welfare at UCLA. Since high school I’ve worked with nonprofits that focus on youth empowerment, and I’m really passionate about enabling young people to lead social change and pursue the future they want for themselves and their communities. My research more broadly is on youth civic engagement and youth-led social change.

I’m a second-year Master of Social Welfare Student at UCLA. My area of concentration is social and economic justice. I’m passionate about addressing the various forms of state violence marginalized communities encounter on daily basis and how these communities heal through the constant trauma. 

​ I am a third-year Public Affairs Major at UCLA with interests in social welfare and child welfare. While in high school, I was a member of a community organization and worked as a junior community organizer. My engagement with my community influenced my interests in social welfare.

Kaylon is a fourth-year Psychology student with minors in Sociology and Social Work at North Carolina State University. She plans to attend graduate school next year to pursue a Master of Social Work degree. She has interests in social and child welfare and enjoy being involved in community organizations that promote the two.

My name is Domonique Henderson (she/her/hers) and am a Compton, California native. My research interests are gendered racism and its implications on the mental health of Black women and girls. I have clinical training in therapeutic practices and advocate for mental health professionally and within various communities. Along with clinical and research experience, I value community work and serving my home city through nonprofit work.