Past Recipients

This dissertation project will develop, conduct, and evaluate a community-partnered intervention to support mental health outcomes among Black queer young adults in California. Results will assess the intervention's impact on participant wellbeing, intervention efficacy, and project acceptability through clinical survey measures and thematic analysis.

This senior thesis, written by Tyrese M. Mitchem, examines the degree of racial/ethnic diversity and inclusion within the student population in the Environmental Studies department at UCSB. The goal of this study is to understand the backgrounds, beliefs, and attitudes of students of color on campus to better understand why there is a seemingly lack of diversity and inclusion within environmental studies and science departments.

My research is centered on narrative identity and engagement to develop more culturally relevant interventions for trauma-focused psychotherapy. As a trauma researcher, I aim to address the disproportionate impact of chronically stressful and systemic environments of trauma, and incidences of traumatic events on people of African descent. Currently, I am assessing ways that people engage and enact their own storytelling, so that narrative processing treatments can be tailored to the individual beyond the historically white, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic context of most psychological research.

My research explores how the knowledge and practices of Black trans and queer practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions give life to LGBTQ+ activism in Brazil. I situate my interlocutors within the broader context of Brazilian religious and sexual politics to show how Afro-Brazilian religion inspires social justice organizing that undermines the dominant social order feeding far-right politics influenced and bolstered by a growing conservative evangelical voter base.

My research explores the meaning of "home" for Indigenous families who migrate, more specifically Indigenous families in the Santa Barbara area. Through a community art approach with families I will be able to capture their story and understand how the meaning of "home" transforms through time and experience. 

Tristen’s research examines how Black trans (binary and non-binary) masculine people construct and embody masculinity throughout their lives. Specifically, this research utilizes an intersectional analysis of race, gender and sexuality to gain insight on how dominant ideologies are resisted, transformed, and reproduced among Black trans masculine people in order to navigate and accomplish masculinity within various social contexts. This research aims to provide new insights into how inequalities associated with race, gender, and sexuality intersect.