who we are

Director of BCaT Lab, DISCO Co-PI

Dr. Steele is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She researches race, gender, and media with a specific focus on Black digital praxis.

View Dr. Steele’s website

Associate Director of BCaT Lab

Dr. Walcott is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland researching Black British identity presentation in social media spaces. She combines digital research, Black feminist praxis, decolonial studies, arts and culture, and mental health advocacy in her work.

View Dr. Walcott’s website

Former BCaT Graduate Fellow

Dr. Alisa Hardy is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research examines the interconnections between digital media and technology, Black discourses, and rhetorical studies. She also works with XR, mapping and existing public murals to create the Breonna Taylor Memorial Project

BCaT Graduate Fellow

Andrew is a PhD student, McNair Fellow and BCaT Fellow in the Digital Communication & Media specialization in the department of Communication at the University of Maryland. His current research is at the crossroads of digital spaces, public culture, and the investigation of rhetoric that uphold the marginalization of different intersections within society.

BCaT Graduate Fellow

Nisa is a PhD student in Information Studies at the University of Maryland, and was a DISCO Graduate Fellow. In her current work, she applies STS and postcolonial theories to frame the social media discourse making meaning of scientific productions of racial identity. She is an interdisciplinary critical scholar whose research interests lie at the intersection of race, technology, art, and postcolonial theory.

Social Media Assistant in BCaT Lab

Arianna Meza is a senior majoring in Communications with a focus on Public Relations. In addition, she is pursuing a Master’s in Management through the Smith Business School. Ari has gained valuable experience through internships with 740 Project, Amtrak, and the Recording Industry Association of America. She also holds leadership roles as Treasurer of the Public Relations Student Society of America and Vice President of the Maryland Music Business Society.

Former Website/Scheduling Assistant in BCaT Lab

Roshida Herelle is a graduated senior who obtained her bachelors in Technology and Information Design. Their academic work focused on how design and technology can be used to create social impact initiatives that uplift marginalized communities. Her most recent work is The Place Keeps Score, a collaborative zine that examines the ways that place can shape BIPOC queer identities. During her time at the lab, she redesigned the website and managed it from 2024-2025. Alongside her role, she previously worked at Ginkgo Bioworks, Cvent, and was Design Co-Director for Technica: the largest hackathon for underrepresented genders in tech.

Tynesha is a Provost Fellow and PhD student in the Department of Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media at North Carolina State University, and was a DISCO Graduate Fellow. Her research explores Black cyberculture with an emphasis on rhetoric, new media, and performance.

Abigail is a Fellow at the Diaspora Solidarities Lab working on the Taller Entre Aguas Criadas Project. She is a Ph.D. student in Communication at the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on Puerto Rican/Caribbean/Latinx Studies, Media Studies, Black Digital Humanities, and Intercultural Communication. Particularly, she explores how Bomba and Plena, two Afro-Puerto Rican genres and forms of resistance function as a form of Black Technological Creativity.

Dr. Barner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She is an interdisciplinary critical and cultural communications scholar with research interests in Black podcasts, digital and Black feminism, digital media, and social media as a tool for social justice and activism and the representation of marginalized people, specifically Black girls and women, in popular culture and media.

Brienne is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University. She holds certificates in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Digital Studies in the Arts and Humanities. Her work utilizes Black feminisms, queer, and affect theories as centering frameworks to study the intimate world-building and meaning-making fans create from Black popular culture productions on social media platforms.

Jessica is a Ph.D. student in the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, and was a DISCO Graduate Fellow. She is interested in the diffusion of Black radicalisms and Black liberatory and self-determination rhetoric.