Jessica is a Theatre and Dance PhD student and San Diego Fellow at the University of California, San Diego. She received a BA in Ethnicity and Race Studies from Columbia University and graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. At Columbia, Jessica’s senior thesis, “Who is Alright in a Rhythm Nation?: Performance as a Vehicle for Decoloniality,” was awarded the 2017 CSER Outstanding Thesis Award. Her research interests include performance, ethnicity, race, gender, and decolonial feminism. Her work focuses on decoloniality as an embodied practice in twentieth century concert dance. A former professional classical ballerina, Jessica is concerned with the intersection of dance, activism, and scholarship.