Members | The Harriet Tubman Institute

Christiane Ndedi Essombe

rebsl — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:58:39 +0000

Dr. Christiane Ndedi Essombe (she/her) holds a Master's of public health from the University of Montreal School of Public Health and a PhD degree in psychology from the University of Cape Town. She has researched structural inequities for over ten years in several countries that include Tanzania, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa and Canada. Her current research focuses on the psychological dynamics of western colonial violence and their impacts on the way Black Africans - on the continent and in the diaspora - perceive themselves and others.

Keywords: (De)coloniality, western colonialism, appropriated whiteness, critical race theory, colonial identity erosion

Muna-Udbi Ali

rebsl — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:27:39 +0000

Dr. Muna-Udbi A. Ali (she/they) is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environment and Urban Change (EUC), specializing in Black Studies in Geography and Environment, at �첥��Ƶ in Toronto, Canada. Before joining the faculty of EUC, Ali worked as an Assistant Professor at California State University San Marcos, and as a Visiting Faculty member at Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Trained as an interdisciplinary scholar, her primary research covers diverse theoretical foci including Black studies, critical refugee and migration studies, critical race studies, Black feminist studies, Black geographies, transnational feminism, environmental justice, popular education, critical Muslim studies, public policy, critical pedagogy, and higher education studies. She has published several book chapters and scholarly articles in journals including The Black Scholar, Darkmatter, Reconsidering Development, and The Conversation, among others. Outside of academia, Ali is a community worker, curriculum and policy consultant, researcher, and anti-oppression educator. She has designed curricula and policies on gender-based violence, Afrocentric education, and anti-racist praxis. She has worked in education and curriculum development in Canada, United States, Kenya, and Somalia.

Keywords: Black Studies, Black geographies, Black feminist theories and methods, critical refugee studies, higher education studies, critical pedagogy, popular education, environmental justice, public policy, and surveillance studies.

Adeyemi Olusola

rebsl — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:00:04 +0000

Adeyemi Olusola is a hydrogeomorphologist whose research examines river processes and changing waterscapes using high-resolution in situ measurements, remote sensing, and machine learning. His work bridges field-based hydrogeomorphology with data-intensive methods to better understand how rivers respond to environmental change and human intervention. He currently serves as Theme 3 Lead for the International Association of Hydrological Sciences HELPING Initiative (Hydrology Engaging Local People IN one Global world) for the decade (2023 – 2033), where he contributes to advancing inclusive and community-engaged water science. He is also an active member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committees of both the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU) and the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

Keywords: Rivers, Human-Water Interactions, Decolonizing Hydrology

Margaret Ofori Asubonteng

rebsl — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:58:59 +0000

Margaret Ofori Asubonteng is a Black African Human Resource Management with interests in Black studies, labour, equity, law, student engagement, and community development. Her academic and leadership interests explore the intersection of Black lived experiences, institutional systems, social justice, and belonging within educational and professional spaces.

She currently serves as a Student Engagement Assistant in Liberal Arts & Professional studies �첥��Ƶ, where she supports student outreach, programming, and peer connection initiatives. Margaret has also contributed to student transition and leadership programming through York’s Student Leadership and Community Development team and has served as an Outreach Lead for a university case competition.

Her commitment to student engagement and service has been recognized through several honours, including a Certificate of Distinction for Excellence from the Student Community & Leadership Development, the Best College Crew Volunteer Award (2024–2025) from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, and recognition for her commitment to the Human Resources Student Association community. She also recently presented at �첥��Ƶ’s International Student Conference, where she spoke about navigating life as an international student.

Margaret is passionate about advocacy, and community-centered engagement, and she hopes to continue contributing to conversations that affirm the richness, complexity, and diversity of African and diasporic experiences.

Keywords: Black Studies, African Diaspora, Labour, Equity, Social Justice, Student Engagement, Community Development, Law, Belonging, Youth Leadership, International Students

Carlito Oliveira Junior

rebsl — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:54:48 +0000

Carlito Lopes de Oliveira Junior is a PhD candidate in History at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) and holds a Master's degree in History from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), where he was advised by Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Saraiva. His doctoral research, supervised by Prof. Dr. Anita Correia Lima de Almeida (UNIRIO), investigates the internal slave market in the Recôncavo da Guanabara (Estrela, Iguaçu, and Magé, 1850–1888), using fiscal records, parish registers, and historical cartography. He also holds a Master's degree in History from UFF, with a dissertation on the spatial, economic, and political formation of Vila de Estrela (1846–1892). He is Director of Historical-Cultural Heritage Preservation at the Prefeitura Municipal de Magé (Rio de Janeiro) and founder of the cultural platform @historiademage. He is a member of the YSI/INET Economic History Working Group and a TEDx Countdown 2024 speaker.

Keywords: Internal slave trade, Atlantic slavery, second slavery, Recôncavo da Guanabara, nineteenth-century Brazil, historical demography, African diaspora, economic history, Atlantic capitalism, slavery, abolition

Gallous Asong Atabongwoung

rebsl — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:49:37 +0000

Gallous Atabongwoung holds a PhD in Anthropology Development Studies from University of Pretoria. He was a research assistant at Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, University of South Africa (UNISA), Visiting Scholar at Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. His research interests include; Anthropology and Development Studies, African and European Cultural Relations, International Migration, Xenophobia, Informal Economy, Democracy, Good Governance, Gender Studies. He is a member of South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS), South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), International Memory Studies Association (MSA), University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES). He has published journal articles and book chapters.

Keywords: Anthropology and Development Studies, African and European Cultural Relations, International Migration, Xenophobia, Informal Economy, Democracy, Good Governance, Gender Studies

Esther Feza Borauzima

rebsl — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:31:32 +0000

Borauzima Feza Esther is a Congolese researcher and lecturer, holding a Master’s degree in Political science from the Université Officielle de Bukavu and a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from the Université Catholique de Louvain. She is currently pursuing a doctoral program at the University of Mons within the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Her doctoral research examines the relationship between armed dynamics in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the environment, through an anthropological reading of gender. Her research is based on four empirical configurations operating in and around the Virunga National Park, located in eastern DRC: (1) Women fighters in armed groups, (2) Former female combatants incarcerated for espionage, (3) Female rangers of Virunga National Park, and (4) Female forest resource traders. She investigates how the agency of these women unfolds differently across temporal and spatial contexts.

Keywords: Armed conflicts, women, agency, environment, afrofeminism, decolonial, DRC

Kashoro Nyenyezi

rebsl — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:26:21 +0000

Kashoro Nyenyezi is an academic and practitioner specializing in Social Justice Education, violence prevention, and institutional leadership. Her research centers on African and Black feminist theory, examining the intersecting experiences of racialized women in global leadership roles. She explores the impact of "global greed" and colonial legacies on institutional policy. As a leading scholar on land, gender-based violence, and decolonial praxis, she investigates the transformative potential of women's leadership in conflict-affected and diasporic communities.

Keywords: Violence Prevention, Qualitative Research, Black Feminist Theory, African Feminism, Decolonial Praxis, Intersectionality, Colonial Legacies and Global Greed, and Conflict-Leadership Communities

Zainab Osman Mahgoub Gaafar

rebsl — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:16:03 +0000

Zainab Gaafar is an architect and project manager specialising in research and design. She is the founder of Studio Urban, a Khartoum-based research studio that explores urban studies at the intersection of culture and knowledge accessibility. The studio produces multimedia content and integrates community engagement tools into its research methodologies. In recent years, Zainab has shifted her focus toward heritage projects, namely serving as curator and exhibition designer for Safeguarding Sudan's Living Heritage (2023–2025), and leads the development of the SSLH museum. Her work investigates critical questions around the role of heritage during times of conflict and the importance of preserving heritage beyond institutional frameworks.

Keywords: Intangible Heritage, Urban space, Conflict and War

Delessa Neger

rebsl — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:56:31 +0000

Dr. Delessa Bulcha Neger is a senior university leader, economist, and partnerships strategist with extensive experience across African higher education. He has served as President of Dambi Dollo University, Vice President at Wollega University and Oromia State University, and Senior Advisor at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Science & Higher Education. His work focuses on development economics, specifically public revenue, African higher education governance, internationalization, and diaspora engagement. Dr. Neger currently advises CAFOR–African Union on partnerships and resource mobilization and serves as Strategic Advisor at AYA Innovation (USA). He has supervised numerous graduate theses published on economic policy and growth and actively supports Africa–global academic collaboration. Additionally, he is serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Gondar and Bule Hora University. He is a member of the editorial board of some journals. Based in Toronto, he is committed to contributing to the Tubman Institute’s research and community-engaged initiatives.

Keywords: African higher education, University leadership, Development economics, Public revenue, Internationalization, Diaspora engagement, Partnerships & resource mobilization, African Union, CAFOR, Institutional governance, Community‑engaged research, South–South collaboration, Economic policy, Academic supervision (MA/PhD), Research and publications, International academic partnerships, Adjunct professor, Editorial board member, Africa–global collaboration, Knowledge mobility, Sustainable development