Meet the Team

Jenna Warren

Administrative Teaching Fellow

Clinical Psychology

Email: hu.frsm@gmail.com

Jenna Warren is a first-generation student coming from central Virginia. Before arriving at Howard, she graduated from the University of Virginia in 2020 receiving a B.A. with Distinction in Psychology. During her time at UVA, Jenna worked in the Investigating Diversity in Early Adolescence (IDEA) Race-Ethnicity-Diversity Lab as a research assistant on a project studying how middle-schoolers learn about race within the school environment. Additionally, she served as a mentor to high school girls in the Young Women Leaders Program. As a second year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program, Jenna is studying under Dr. Jules Harrell, Dr. Teletia Taylor, and Clinical Advisor, Dr. Ezra Kang. Currently, her research interests involve uncovering pathways to mitigate and prevent negative health outcomes in minority communities. She was recently awarded a national fellowship which assists doctoral students in conducting research aligned with the goal of promoting health equity. This is her second year serving as a Teaching Fellow for Freshman Seminar.

Lesina Martin

African Studies

Email: hu.frsm.tf7@gmail.com

Lesina Martin is a native of Detroit, MI. She graduated from Howard University in 2003 with a B.A. in African Studies. For ten years, she taught outreach throughout the Washington, DC area with Traditional Expressions, a program designed to teach African folkloric studies (dance, music, song) as youth arts enrichment. She entered the classroom full-time teaching high school Social Studies in 2014, and is now a Teaching Artist. Since 2018, Ms. Martin has worked closely with the Howard University Center for African Studies to plan and present at the annual Summer Institute for educators. Now in her second year of graduate school pursuing an M.A. in African Studies, Lesina endeavors to continue the mission of working with the community and fellow educators to increase awareness of African cultural heritage.

Marcus Jamison

African Studies

Email: hu.frsm.tf7@gmail.com

Marcus Jamison is a poet and scholar from North Carolina whose creative and academic interests lie at the intersections of Black fugitivity, memory, and 20th Century African American poetics. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English Literature from Howard University.  

Sierra Armstrong

Film

Email: hu.frsm.tf6@gmail.com

Sea Armstrong (she/they) is a graduate film student and birth worker from PG County, Maryland. In pursuing their MFA in independent filmmaking from Howard University, they seek to make films that explore futurity, the experiences of marginalized genders, and ancestral wisdom through the lens of Black queer feminism. As a birth worker, she educates and empowers clients to advocate for the birth that they desire and the care they deserve. Sea has worked as a program manager for Dynamic Service Solutions, where they led over 100 employees in organizing a systematic and efficient workflow. They also spent a year in Cameroon as a community health specialist, designing and implementing maternal health programs and workshops. Sea graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2018 with a degree in Public Health.

Rylan Rosario

Counseling Psychology

Email: hu.frsm.tf5@gmail.com

Rylan Rosario, MA She is a proud first-generation college graduate and doctoral student in the Counseling PhD program at Howard University. In her efforts to increase health equity by removing the stigma of mental health and enhancing access, as well as by leading with compassion, empathy, and service, she also holds the positions of mental health coach, therapist, and neuropsychology clinical trainee. She has been a member of numerous organizations, including the DC Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Howard University Counseling Psychology Association. Prior to pursuing a career in mental health, she spent several years researching, teaching, mentoring, and developing programs for youth and college students in the education and non-profit sectors. Her studies have concentrated on the Black LGBTQ+ community, first-generation college students, and public health. Rosario completed her Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and Professional Clinical Counseling at the University of San Francisco, where she studied  the mental health; protective and risk factors of LGBTQ youth of color. She is also a  graduate of San Jose State University with a major in Health Sciences in Public Health and a minor in Biological Sciences, she has held fellowship positions at Children's Hospital University of California San Francisco and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.

Perpetue Bataille Backer

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Email: hu.frsm.tf4@gmail.com

Perpetue Bataille Backer is a PhD student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Howard University. Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she earned a bachelor’s in engineering from The City College of the City University of New York. As an undergraduate, Perpetue conducted research with Dr. Raymond Tu on the synthesis of microbubbles as an effective tool for targeted drug delivery. This experience stemmed her interest in formulation sciences and targeted drug delivery. Currently, Perpetue’s research focuses on utilizing peptide drug conjugates for site specific drug delivery for gliomas. She has been awarded the Just Julian Scholar Award and is a Beacon of Hope Fellow. Perpetue enjoys teaching and has served as a tutor, teacher’s assistant and mentor to undergraduate and graduate students. Perpetue is a member of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS) and Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Pi chapter where she hopes to use her platform to support the next generation of scientists. Her long-term goal is to develop targeted drug therapy for rare pediatric diseases. In addition, she looks forward to educating and mentoring future leaders in minority communities.

Elisabeth Lucien

Sociology & Criminology

Email: hu.frsm.tf3@gmail.com

Elisabeth is a 2nd-year sociology Ph.D. student at Howard University. She also holds a master' degree from the University of Southern California in social work, graduating with honors. Elisabeth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (mental health therapist). In addition, she is energetically dedicated to educating and empowering underserved populations. Elisabeth's research efforts have been focused on uplifting the Black community from a physical and mental health perspective. Her personal mission is to be a voice for social justice while motivating others to use their own voice. She supports this mission by facilitating conversations on an individual, community, and national level about cultural trauma, resilience in the black community, and mental health-related topics. Elisabeth enjoys traveling, exploring new places, and spending time with friends and family in her free time.

Joseph Macharia

MFA Film

Email: hu.frsm.tf2@gmail.com

Joseph is a self-taught and experienced video producer and motion graphics animator with 5 years of experience located in the DMV. 

Prior to moving to the east coast, Joseph was a content creator at his alma mater, California State University Fresno, where he created dynamic content with Bulldog Vision, a production department in Fresno State Athletics during a reconstruction period bringing content to today's standard. 

Currently, Joseph is a graduate Film student at Howard University. Joseph's study focus in the program is cinematography, with an emphasis on creating and shooting stories within the diaspora that display the many different cultures and rich history of unheard voices. His undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Communication with a minor in journalism at California State University, Fresno.

Tashawn Reagon

Sociology & Criminology

Lead Teaching Fellow

Email: hu.frsm.tf1@gmail.com

Tashawn is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in Sociology and Criminology at Howard University. During Tashawn’s first doctoral year, she was a teaching fellow and promoted to graduate course coordinator for the dual enrollment course, Principles of Criminal Justice, taught by Dr. Bahiyyah Muhammad. Prior to starting her doctoral degree at Howard, Tashawn worked at both litigation and policy driven organizations, where she gained great experience learning the legal policies and procedures that make up our legal system today. Tashawn was the Strategic Litigation paralegal at the Innocence Project (“IP”). At IP, she assisted in the identification and litigation of numerous criminal cases that had the potential or led to the establishment of new legal precedent and address some of the leading causes of wrongful conviction. As well as serving as a paralegal at IP, Tashawn sat on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) committee. Prior to the Innocence Project, she also worked at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, as a litigation paralegal, where she handled many high profile civil and criminal legal matters. Tashawn graduated with a B.A. from Skidmore College in 2016 with honors in Sociology and a minor in Intergroup Relations. Her undergraduate studies, both inside and outside of the classroom, focused on the intersection of mass incarceration, race, and social identity development in the U.S. As an advocate for abolition, Tashawn seeks to examine equitable solutions for vulnerable and marginalized communities impacted by the social, legal, and economic application of justice.