BGC RESEARCH TEAM
BLACK GIRLHOOD COLLABORATIVE TEAM MEMBERS
Click on each team member to learn more about each of our contributions and accomplishments within this collective work!
Sophia De La Cruz
YOUTH PROGRAMS, RESEARCHER
Sophia is in her 5th year undergraduate student at the University of florida. She is the BGC Youth Team Lead, which includes Girl Talk! and the BGC Youth Team. She is dedicated to supporting Black and Latina girls within and outside U.S. and Latin American educational contexts through participatory research, intentional mentorship and critical discussion.
Ayanna troutman, phd
YOUTH PROGRAMS, RESEARCHER
Ayanna Troutman, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow at UTHealth Houston, where she conducts research and scholarship focused on Black adolescent girls in the K-12 system, including alternative education. Her work explores their schooling experiences and emotional well-being using youth participatory action research (YPAR).
Taryrn T.C. Brown, PhD
FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Taryrn T.C. Brown (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on the intersection of gender, race, and class in Black women and girls' lives; amplifying their voices in prevention science; and examining parental, school, and community roles in digital socialization and identity. As a scholar-practitioner, she promotes equity-centered pedagogies in teaching and learning. She founded the Black Girlhood Collaborative for research and learning focused on Black girlhood.
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Deandra West
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Deandra West (she/her/hers) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida in the Curriculum and Instruction program, specializing in reading and literacy. Deandra is a BGC Team leader, supporting research and dissemination efforts.
Her interests include highlighting the literacy practices of students from historically marginalized communities, the enactment of culturally sustaining and relevant pedagogies to enrich students' learning experiences, countering censorship of diverse texts, and the infusion of BIPOC texts in elementary classrooms.
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Kenesma John, PhD
YOUTH PROGRAMS, RESEARCHER
Kenesma is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Florida. She is a co-lead for the BGC Youth Programming, which includes Girl Talk! and the BGC Youth Team. Kenesma’s identity as a second-generation Caribbean American guides her scholarship which is centered around Black Girlhood Studies, Black Feminist Thought, Black Immigrants' Experiences, and Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning
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Dahlia Fabregat
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Dahlia is a Master’s student at the University of Florida. She supports BGC through our monthly newsletter and team communications. Her research interests include understanding how Latina students experience marginalization and oppression within schooling spaces and how they envision pathways to resistance and equity.
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Oluyemisi Oladejo
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Oluyemisi Oladejo is a first-year PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Teachers, Schools and Society, at the University of Florida. Oluyemisi is a BGC lead, supporting research and dissemination.
Oluyemisi’s research interest borders on experiential learning designs and other pedagogical models to navigate and circumvent the challenges of educational resources inaccessibility among marginalized groups. She is currently exploring the points of convergence and divergence of marginalization between Nigeria and the US educational systems.