Name: Shaunda Brown-Perez
Email: lb4490@nyu.edu
Program: Sociology of Education
Research Interests: College student learning and development; anti-racism and anti-bias in education; access to Higher Education for students of color and low-income students; socialization of women of color in Higher Education and Student Affairs; institutional transformation.
Principal Advisor(s): Dr. Mercy Agyepong
Research description/bio: Shaunda (she/her) is a first-generation doctoral student in the Sociology of Education program at NYU Steinhardt. Her research interests are informed by critical and post-structural frameworks such as Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, queer theory, and Queer of Color Critique. She seeks to positively affect the experiences and possibilities of minoritized communities in U.S. postsecondary education and beyond.
Shaunda is a proud alumna of Bowling Green State University, where she graduated with a B.L.S. with concentrations in Education and Ethnic Studies as well as a M.A. in College Student Personnel. There, she began to foster her interest in educational research and writing, with her thesis - a comparative analysis of the experiences of queer students of color with cultural centers and LGBTQ resource centers on Midwestern campuses for the McNair Scholars Program, graduate research centered on the identity development of Black students who have studied abroad, and various writing and presentation opportunities.
In addition to her studies, Shaunda serves as the Associate Director of Intercultural Engagement within the NYU College of Arts and Sciences, where she leads the Academic Achievement Program. Prior to her time at NYU, Shaunda was based in the Midwest, where she worked at several universities in various functional areas, including student engagement, residence life, admissions, and multicultural affairs. Some of Shaunda’s favorite things outside of work and school include reading, hiking, cooking new recipes, and watching documentaries.
Selected Awards, Publications, and Presentations:
Stewart, D., & Brown, S. (2019). Social Construction of Identities. In Rethinking College Student Development Theory Using Critical Frameworks (1st ed., pp. 110–125). essay, Stylus Publishing, LLC.