Perez Research Fellowship
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2023 Perez Research Fellows
Eghosa Obaizamomwan-Hamilton
Perez Research Fellow
Eghosa is a first generation Nigerian American originally from Sacramento. She is co-founder of Making Us Matter (M.U.M.), a Black woman-owned nonprofit educational organization. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in international and multicultural education with a concentration in Racial Justice at the University of San Francisco. She has over 15 years of experience as an educator and culturally-responsive curriculum creator. She is also the editor of the Black Educology Journal where collective work is being done to amplify and empower Black voices. Her sites of inquiry are anti-Blackness in education, Critical Pedagogy, BlackCRT, and Black Feminist Thought, and embodied epistemologies. Her research is centered on unpacking anti-Blackness in education, Black student experiences, Black women educators, Black hair identity, and culturally-responsive curriculum development. She seeks collective liberation and visibility for those who have been left in the margins. Eghosa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, a teaching credential in English and Sociology, and a Master of Arts degree in Education from Saint Mary’s College of California.
Montzerrat Garcia Bedolla
Perez Research Fellow
Montzerrat, also known as “Montze,” is currently a Master’s candidate of the Health Sciences and Public Health graduate program at California State University, Long Beach. Montze’s leadership and lived experiences stem from growing up in a low-income, immigrant Mexican family in Santa Ana, CA. Montze values community organizing, community participatory action research, health policy, and strategically working to better the livelihood of communities disproportionately affected by lack of investment and access to healthy resources. Over the past ten years, Montze has led several youth and community coalitions throughout California that address health inequities in their communities through alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention work, financial and economic justice, transportation equity, and immigrant justice. Montze holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.
NaaKoshie Mills
Perez Research Fellow
NaaKoshie is a doctoral candidate in Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research examines the impact of race and racism in U.S. foreign policymaking to Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular focus on democracy and human rights promotion. Prior to her doctoral studies, she was a career diplomat at the U.S. Department of State and served in the Bureau of African Affairs in Washington, D.C., Johannesburg, South Africa, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. As a diplomat, she specialized in multilateral initiatives at the UN General Assembly and the African Union in addition to interagency projects with the Department of Defense and U.S. Agency for International Development. In addition to government service, NaaKoshie has worked for global non-profit organizations to advance local economic development, gender equality, and sustainability in South America and West Africa. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Howard University in Washington, D.C., as well as three Master of Arts degrees from Columbia University in New York, Sciences Po in Paris, and UCLA.
2022 Perez Research Fellows
Carrie Oliver
Perez Research Fellow
Carrie is a Certified Health Education Specialist with experience designing, implementing, and evaluating public health programs for youth and adults in the nonprofit, private, and government sectors. Her professional experience has allowed her to serve as a researcher and practitioner in a wide range of topic areas including youth development, HIV/AIDS, healthcare workforce development, employee wellness, and mental health. Carrie received her Bachelor’s in Science in Biomedical Engineering and Master’s in Public Health with a Certificate in Socio-Contextual Determinants of Health. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Public Health at Georgia State University and hopes to use her academic training to leverage and evaluate partnerships that aim to create sustainable solutions to address health inequities.
LeQuita Carroll-McKoy
Perez Research Fellow
LeQuita holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Grambling State University and a Master’s of Social Work from Howard University. Her professional experience includes providing direct services in the non-profit sector, and program development within county governmental programs and higher education. For several years she worked within the Broward County, FL Human Services Department as Regional Coordinator and Contracts Grants Administrator in Children’s Mental Health. LeQuita is currently the Director of Social Work Field Education at California State University, East Bay and is also pursuing her Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at CSU East Bay, with a research focus on Institutional Culture and the Retention of African American women who are pursuing the Master’s degree.
2021 Perez Research Fellows
Ana Aguilar
Perez Research Fellow
Ana holds a BA in Communication Studies from San Francisco State University. She continued on to receive an MA in Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. Ana’s research focuses on trauma, resilience and temporality using qualitative and quantitative approaches. In Austin, she conducted research with organizations such as the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas, CommUnity Care Clinic and volunteered at The Workers Defense Project. Prior to moving to Austin, she worked and volunteered at various nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area including Alliance for Girls and Girls on the Run. Now that she is back in the Bay Area, she is excited to engage in community centered research with local groups.
Esteem Brumfield
Perez Research Fellow
Born to civil rights activists in the Bay Area, Esteem cultivated a deep sense of social responsibility, passion for human rights, and a love for the Bay Area. His interests center on law, health and alternatives to incarceration. Particularly, his work examines the relationship between incarceration, mental health, and public health outcomes. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Health at Brown University and plans to enter law school to study constitutional law. As a Fulbright Fellow to South Africa, he researched the relationship between learning disability accommodations and rehabilitation within the Western Cape’s prison system. Prior to pursuing his Masters, Esteem served as a Public Health Commissioner for Alameda County and reviewed health effects of incarceration within the county. He holds a Bachelors from the University of California, Berkeley.
2020 Perez Research Fellows
Chantiri Abarca
2020 Perez Research Fellow
Chantiri holds a BA in Development Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and is currently a doctoral candidate and teaching fellow at the Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since 2006, she has been learning with and supporting immigrant youth leadership development and organizing efforts for education and immigration reform. As a UCLA Labor Center Dream Summer Fellow, UCLA Department of Urban Planning Community Scholar, and UCLA Urban Humanities Initiative graduate student, she has supported, designed and delivered a variety of collaborative community-centered research projects, particularly in the areas of youth and community development. Previously, she worked in administrative office operations at a 6th-12th grade school in East Oakland where she also volunteered as a running coach.
Jesse Enriquez
2020 Perez Research Fellow
Jesse Enriquez is the first person in his family to earn a college education. He completed his BA from Cal State University, Chico and his MA from San Diego State University. Jesse is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education Studies at UC San Diego. Prior to his doctoral studies, Jesse worked with community-based organizations in San Diego focused on increasing college access for historically underrepresented students and worked in higher education as a student affairs practitioner. He is currently a Lecturer at California State University, San Marcos, a Hispanic Serving Institution. As a scholar-practitioner, his research aims to challenge deficit discourse surrounding Latinx students, community college students, and young men of color in pursuit of education.
Daniela Medina
2019-2020 Perez Research Fellow
Daniela is an Oakland native and student at the University of California, Berkeley where she is pursuing a Masters in Social Work. She is a board member for the Underground Scholars Initiative, which provides services and support to formerly incarcerated and system impacted students in navigating higher education. As a woman of color who has been impacted by mass incarceration and community violence, Daniela is passionate about advocating for those who have also been directly impacted by those issues. Previously, Daniela was a Case Management Supervisor at Community & Youth Outreach, supporting youth and young adults in Oakland towards healthy participation with their families and communities through coaching, system navigation, advocacy, and connection to needed resources.
2019 Perez Research Fellows
Holly Joshi
2019 Perez Research Fellow
Holly has been a dedicated public servant, community leader, and justice advocate for the past 15 years. She is a life long learner who is passionate about impacting issues of equity and social change. Her professional experience is diverse and includes leadership positions within government and non-profit agencies. She is a skilled strategist, organizational change leader, relationship builder, fundraiser, public speaker, and national trainer. She has worked at the forefront of the local and national anti-trafficking movement for over a decade. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a master’s degree in leadership for social justice, and is currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership.
Rod Martinez
2019 Perez Research Fellow
Rod Martinez is a community-based researcher located in Washington, D.C. His research examines the intersections of mass imprisonment, race, masculinity, and social movements. Guided by a Du Boisian scholar-activist framework, Rod has collaborated with a number of community-based organizations and public systems that focus on the well-being of formerly imprisoned people, Black & Latino Men and Boys, and non-carceral approaches to community safety. Broadly, his work seeks to empower communities of color through mentoring, teaching, and research. Currently, Rod is a doctoral candidate in sociology.
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