
Ophelia Akoto

Habiba Braimah

Aaron D. Camp

Kaitie Chakoian-Lifvergren

Quentin Cox
Quentin Cox is a doctoral student in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration at the Heller School. He earned a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Religion and Economic Justice from Vanderbilt University Divinity School and a Bachelor of Science in Management from the United States Air Force Academy. Prior to joining the Heller School, Quentin served as the Project Director of Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative at American Baptist College. His research interests focus on how historically Black institutions like the Black church and Historically Black Colleges and Universities can create systemic solutions for America’s racial wealth gap.

Ofa Liz Ejaife
Ofa Liz Ejaife is a doctoral candidate in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. She received an MA in Community Psychology and her BA in Psychology, both from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML). Prior to her doctoral studies, Ofa worked as a program manager at Suffolk University Law School. She also previously worked as a program evaluator at the Center for Community Research and Engagement at UML, focused on various community-based projects, such as: advancing wellness in the workplace, reducing crime and recidivism, promoting cultural competence in healthcare delivery, amongst others. Currently, Ofa’s research explores occupational landings by race/ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, and social determinants of Black sexual minority women’s health and well-being.

Fernanda Escobar

Anthony Grant
Anthony Grant is a PhD student in the Social Policy program with a concentration in Economic and Racial Equity in The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He received a Master of Science in Social Justice from Fisk University and a Bachelor of Arts in History with a concentration in U.S. History from Syracuse University. Prior to Brandeis, Anthony served as the inaugural College and Career Coach at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago, IL. He has worked in college admissions counseling for nearly 15 years leading recruitment, connecting students to higher education, and implementing social justice policies and practices. His research interests include what benefits musicians in the Black Church receive, how intraracial xenophobia manifests between Black ethnic groups, the relationships between organizational policies and practices and the impact they have on marginalized people, and social behavior related to COVID-19 and the long-term impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities.

Zachary Hylton

Jonathan Jacob

Kaili Mauricio

Janelle Ridley
Janelle Ridley is a doctoral student in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration. Ridley has dedicated her career to serving youth in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She has been a social worker, a teacher, and the founder of Transition HOPE, a program designed to give system-involved youth purpose, pathways, and encouragement.
After a 16-year career serving youth, she is excited to tackle research critically with a goal of finding the next direction for her work and youth services in general. She hopes her time in the doctoral program will “… allow me to think about the direction for HOPE and for the work moving forward. And joining the staff at Heller is exciting because I get to share what I’ve learned over the past 16 years with other young people… sharing the positives, but also the negatives to this work – the joys you get when you know you make an impact, and the burden you carry when you see that these systems are so dysfunctional.” Ridley received her undergraduate degree from Lasell College.

Emily Su Ni Thoman

Vilma Uribe
Vilma Uribe is a PhD student in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration at The Heller School at Brandeis University. She received an MA in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from The Heller School at Brandeis University and a BA in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies and Comparative American Studies from Oberlin College. Vilma currently serves as Director of Policy and Systems Advocacy at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, where works to address systemic and legislative barriers and to expand the ecosystem of support for survivors of domestic violence. Vilma’s research focus is on policy-based approaches to support the collective economic power of survivors of violence and people of color.