UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO

The University of Illinois Chicago serves as The Hub for the Black epiSTEMologies research group. Under the direction of Lead PI, Dr. Terrell R. Morton, The Hub provides administrative, conceptual, and procedural support to the five research sites. This includes, but is not limited to offering professional development opportunities specific to the theoretical and methodological approaches leveraged in the Black epiSTEMologies project.

Top Row, Left to Right: Dr. Jennifer Adams (Evaluator), Dr. Terrell R. Morton (Lead PI), Future Dr. Isaiah Stewart (Graduate Research Assistant). 

Bottom Row, Left to Right: Dr. Lulay Baba (Postdoc), Dr. Ashley Woodson (Qualitative Methods Coach), Dr. Yasmiyn Irizarry (Quantitative Methods Coach)

MEET THE BLACK EPISTEMOLOGIES UIC TEAM

  • Dr. Terrell R. Morton

    Lead PI, University of Illinois at Chicago

    Dr. Morton is an Assistant Professor of Identity and Justice in STEM Education at the University of Illinois Chicago. His work strives to transform the positioning and understanding of Blackness in mainstream education, specifically STEM, seeking justice and joy for Black women, Black students, and other minoritized individuals.

  • Dr. Lul Baba

    Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois Chicago

    Dr. Baba is a Somali native who spent a bulk of her childhood in a refugee camp in rural Kenya. Her research interests center around the experiences and advancement of underrepresented Black and African individuals across educational settings and raising awareness to the existence and unique experiences of ethnically underrepresented communities.

  • Dr. Ashley N. Woodson

    Qualitative Methodology Coach, Wayne State University

    Ashley N. Woodson is a sociologist of education and activist committed to democratizing Black history knowledge, particularly with and in defense of Black children. She has a broad background in Black Studies and specific training in critical race theory, Afropessimism, Black feminisms and Afrocentricity.

  • Dr. Jennifer D. Adams

    Research and Evaluation Consultant

    Dr. Adams is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Creativity, Equity and Justice in STEM at the University of Calgary. Dr. Adams is from Brooklyn, New York and is now a Caribbean Diasporic agent in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

  • Dr. Yasmiyn Irizarry

    Co-PI & Quant Methods Lead

    Dr. Irizarry is an Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and founding director of the Numbers 4 Justice Lab at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Irizarry’s research focuses on racial identity and measurement, racialized contexts in education, and minoritized students’ STEM experiences and trajectories.

  • Isaiah Stewart

    Graduate Research Assistant, The Hub (UIC)

    Isaiah Stewart is a PhD student at the University of Illinois Chicago in the Educational Psychology Department. Isaiah’s research focuses on examining financial wellness among Black undergraduate students and its influence on their decision-making processes.