Name: Aziza Alford 

Hometown: New York City, New York

Program: Urban Education Policy

Previous Education: Brown University

Aziza Alford, from New York City, is pursuing a Master’s in Urban Education Policy at Brown University, where she is also an Urban Education Fellow committed to working in Rhode Island for three years following graduation. She earned her undergraduate degree at Brown in Health & Human Biology, with a focus on the social determinants of health, and Africana Studies, grounding her academic work in an interdisciplinary understanding of inequity and powers, as well as Black culture and joy. Her favorite UEP course so far, Race and Democracy in Urban Education Policy, has shaped her thinking by shifting the critique away from individuals and toward the structures and institutions that produce educational outcomes, with particular attention to how institutional racism has created an educational debt that continues to permeate the policy landscape. This year, Aziza is interning with the Annenberg Institute, where she supports a stakeholder engagement project by mapping relationships and collecting qualitative insights to strengthen outreach and visibility. Through the UEP program, she hopes to sharpen her ability to analyze the “why” and “how” of urban education policy, build strong quantitative and qualitative tools, and cultivate lasting relationships with peers and faculty. For Aziza, the Brown community is intellectually driven, collaborative, and creative. Qualities she also admires in Providence, a city she loves for its quaint character, creativity, and sense of community.