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

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

Felicity Sena Dogbatse is a Ph.D. student in the Rhetoric & Political Culture track in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. Felicity’s research in the Ph.D. program lies at the intersections of gender studies, feminist research, digital media, intercultural communication, and social change. Notably, she examines how Ghanaian feminists utilize digital platforms and African indigenous strategies towards collective women's empowerment in society.

Marketing Assistant in BCaT Lab

Arianna (Ari) Meza is a Master's in Management Studies student through the Smith School of Business and recently received her B.A. in Communication with a specialization in Public Relations from the University of Maryland, College Park. Ari has interned at Amtrak, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the National Music Publishers Association. This is her second year at the lab where she will continue to improve the visibility of the lab.

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.