Staff & Fellows

Shanae Aerts is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. Shanae uses eye tracking, machine learning and functional magnetic resonance imaging to study conscious perception. Shanae also serves as a Graduate Coordinator for the Wu Tsai Undergraduate Fellowship and is passionate about increasing access to graduate school for underrepresented groups through mentorship and program development.

Kohar Avakian is a Nipmuc, Black, and Armenian mixed-media artist, visual storyteller, and passionate educator from Worcester, Massachusetts, the ancestral land of her tribe, the Nipmuc Nation. She holds a B.A. in History (modified with Native American Studies) from Dartmouth College and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in American Studies at Yale. As a descendant of genocide survivors still awaiting reparations, she has experienced the unparalleled power of learning other peoples' histories through their own eyes. Through photography, oral history interviews, and multi-media art, she explores the intersection of race, recognition, reparations, memory, kinship, and ancestral presence in the digital 21st century. Alongside her best friend Iman AbdoulKarim, she co-hosts Name It!, a podcast––a.k.a. encyclopodia––committed to naming what it means to live at the intersections, one big idea at a time. Her words have been featured in Vice News, Armenian Weekly, and more. Her essay “An Inter/Racial Love History” is featured in the recent anthology We Are All Armenian: Voices from the Diaspora (UT Press, March 2023).

Jon-Paul is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Religious Studies with research interests in Biblical interpretations of healing and healthcare and its impact on public health. His work focuses on developing ethical perspectives that liberate illness and disability from historical and religious interpretations that may lead to stigmatization today. Jon-Paul is also working jointly as the inaugural fellow with the Yale Schwarzman Center to help lead the Sessions initiative.

Ashley Oaks is a third year PhD student in Statistics and Data Science with a research interest in complex statistical analysis to explore emergent properties in social systems, specifically the effects of theatrical media on marginalized communities’ online presence.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a concentration in Actuarial Science and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Howard University. In her free time, Ashley enjoys watching television and films as well as replicating tasty dishes from Masterchef.

Originally from southern California, Hector is a 7th-year PhD candidate in the American Studies program. Hector researches, writes, and teaches about U.S. formations of race and ethnicity, the history and culture of the U.S.-Mexico border region, and Latinx migrant geographies. As he is committed to balancing academic professional activities with fun, joy, exercise, and relaxation, you can catch Hector dancing at concerts, in studios, and at the bar; playing volleyball at PWG & hiking in East Rock; or watching sitcoms and reality tv within the comfort of his home. 

Emily Ritchie is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Psychology. Her research focuses on the social and cognitive underpinnings of interpersonal judgment and mechanisms of persuasion. She aims to develop effective strategies to ameliorate interpersonal conflict, intervene to combat biases against marginalized groups, and increase support for inclusive social policies. Beyond the lab, Emily has served as a mentor in various programs, an Advocacy & Research Fellow at the Yale Women Faculty Forum, and a Social Impact Fellow at Social Contract—a consulting firm that helps government agencies and non-profits to design and implement supportive community programs.

Erick is a PhD candidate in the department of microbiology. He is interested in immune responses against pathogenic bacteria. Erick is invested in increasing the recruitment and retention of minoritized students in academia with a particular focus in science. Outside of work Erick enjoys exploring the local coffee shops and restaurants.

Shannon Whittaker is a doctoral candidate in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Yale School of Public Health. Her research interests lie at the intersection of place, race, health and history where she examines how social, structural, and political processes such as gentrification impact the health of marginalized communities of color, in particular Black communities. Most of her current work evaluates how systemic forms of racism have evolved and how these systems of oppression affect neighborhoods and their residents. Before Yale, she worked in healthcare advertising at Omnicom and as a health policy coordinator for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She holds a B.A with honors from Brown University and an MPH from the Brown University School of Public Health.