Angela Fitzgerald Ward (she/her) is a doctoral student in the School of Human Ecology’s Civil Society and Community Studies department at UW- Madison. She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Psychology, and is broadly interested in the intersections between research, community engagement and organizing. Angela’s research interests also align with her professional roles at Madison College and PBS Wisconsin, where she works to create spaces for historically marginalized groups to be supported and have their stories told. As a former east-coaster who now calls Madison home, she looks forward to contributing to the important work of the SoulFolk Collective in amplifying and supporting the needs of the Madison Black community.

Ayshea Banes (she/her) is a doctoral student in the Physics department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received her bachelors in physics with minors in mathematics and chemistry from Wichita State University. She became interested in physics and astronomy when she saw Jupiter for the first time with her first telescope at 7 years old! Though, as time continued on, she became more interested in physics education and how we can transform it. Her research now focuses on ways to center Blackness within the physics classroom and how physics can aid in Black liberation. Outside of academics, she really enjoys doing puzzles, pilates, reading, and petting her cats!

Curtis O’Dwyer (he/him) is a doctoral student in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests encompass Science Teaching, Science and Technology Studies, History of Education, Race, Black Studies, and Political Economy. His work investigates how historical Black teaching philosophies and liberatory practices shape our understanding of the limits and possibilities in science teaching and learning, both past and present. Curtis is an Education Graduate Research Scholar (EdGRS) Fellow and a Pella Science Education Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His scholarship appears in the St. Louis American and is forthcoming in book chapter publications. He earned his B.S. in Biology with a minor in Mathematics from Roosevelt University and his Master of Arts in Teaching from Washington University in St. Louis. Before starting his doctoral studies, Curtis worked as a middle school science teacher for six years.

Griffin Granberry (they/them) is a first-year Graduate Fellow in UW’s African American Studies Department. They attended the University of Wisconsin for their undergraduate studies as well, graduating in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies and German Language. As a Master’s Student, their research starts by situating the archive as a site of violence, exploring from there how marginalized communities have created alternative archives to preserve their own histories. In their free time, Griffin enjoys reading whatever they can get their hands on – prioritizing stories with dragons, of course – and visiting their many feathered friends at the nearby International Crane Foundation. Find Griffin snuggled up with their three cats or studying with a chilly coffee in the Graduate Student Office!

Jada Young (she/her) is a first-year M.A. student in African American Studies and Ph.D. student in Educational Policy Studies at UW-Madison. She holds a M.A. in Educational Studies with a concentration in Educational Equity, Justice, and Social Transformation from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded the Rackham Merit Fellowship. Additionally, Jada is a proud PEOPLE Scholar alumna of UW-Madison and has a B.S. in Education Studies and a certificate in African American Studies. She is a budding Black Education and Black Girlhood scholar who explores the criminalization of Black girls in carceral schooling. Jada follows the footsteps of The SoulFolk Collective’s first lab manager—Ziyen Curtis—and assumed the role on January 1, 2026. She’s committed to creating liberatory educational spaces for Black youth, and looks forward to launching the SoulFolk Saturday School in Spring 2027. Outside of academia, you can find Jada traveling, volunteering, or spending time with her loved ones and puppy!

Dr. Jessica Lee Stovall (she/her) is the director and PI of The SoulFolk Collective. She is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research in education draws on the discipline of Black Studies to explore how Black teachers create fugitive spaces to navigate and combat antiblackness at their respective school sites. Jessica had the pleasure of seeing some examples of research spaces that strove to be Black-affirming when she was in graduate school, and she knew as soon as she began at UW-Madison that she wanted to build an intellectual community where the focus is on the resilience, creativity, brilliance, and freedom dreams of Black people, instead of just the trauma and harm. Before beginning her doctoral studies at Stanford, Jessica taught English and reading for 11 years in the Chicagoland area, and she is trying to finish 52 novels by the end of the calendar year.

Lisa Oyolu (she/her) is a doctoral student in the Educational Policy Studies department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on civic education and how African immigrant youth make sense of their health, communities, identities, and educational experiences. Lisa’s research interests have been informed by her experience volunteering with an African immigrant youth-serving educational nonprofit and working as a college admission counselor. She joined The SoulFolk Collective to conduct research using asset-based lenses which center Black joy, healing, resistance, and possibility. Outside of school, she loves spending time with friends and family or listening to a podcast.

Micah Sagers (she/her) is a third-year undergraduate student in the College of Letters & Science at UW-Madison. She is majoring in Biology with a certificate in African American Studies and on the pre-med track. Her academic and personal interests lie at the intersection of health, medicine, and social justice. She joined the SoulFolk Collective after taking Dr. Stovall’s Intro to African American Studies course, where she values the opportunity to listen to diverse stories and amplify Black voices. After graduating, Micah plans to pursue medical school and a career rooted in inclusivity and community wellbeing. Outside of school, she enjoys reading, running, and creative writing.

Ziyen Curtis (she/they) is the current lab manager of The SoulFolk Collective. She is a doctoral student of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Global and International Studies, with a specification in Culture and Identity, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Pennsylvania State University. Ziyen’s research interests include History Education and Black history curricula. Through their research, she aims to analyze the consequences of racially exclusive history curricula in the U.S. and the ethics of value in the context of Black history curricula. 

Izabela de Souza is an educator, curriculum developer, and scholar. A Ph.D. student in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she holds an MA in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she received the 2022 Shirley Chisholm Trailblazer Award. Known as Iza, she earned her BA in Language and Literature from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie in Brazil. Her research interests encompass counter-colonization, Amefricanity, and Afrocentricity, particularly as they apply to Brazil's curriculum development, teacher practices and training, and collective accountability and healing. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her dog, Odara, and working out.