Colorism 2.0: Insights from Psychology, Economics, and the Media

Colorism 2.0 Conveners

• Fatiah Touray, Executive Director, Inclusion and Equity | NYU Abu Dhabi

  

  Fatiah Touray

  Executive Director, Inclusion and Equity | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Fatiah Touray, Esq.’s unique blend of legal expertise, education, inclusion, diversity, belonging, equity, and access/accessibility leadership make her an invaluable asset to NYU Abu Dhabi and the wider higher education community. As the Executive Director for Inclusion and Equity at NYU Abu Dhabi, she leads the development and implementation of programs and initiatives that promote a more inclusive and diverse campus environment. Fatiah collaborates closely with the Office of the Provost, Spiritual Life, Intercultural Education, and Conflict Transformation (SLICECT), and students, faculty, and staff. She brings extensive leadership experience in higher education, complemented by her non-profit work and training as a lawyer and classroom teacher. Fatiah comes to NYUAD from Sarah Lawrence College, where she was the inaugural Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Special Assistant to the President. Previously, she was the Assistant Dean of Diversity and International Advising and the Director of the Academic Achievement Program at the College of Arts and Science at NYU. One area of research that interests Fatiah is the impact of colorism across global lines, which is especially relevant to the topic of this symposium. Fatiah's academic achievements include a BA with Honors in Journalism and Africana Studies from NYU, a Master of Science in Education from The City University of New York - Brooklyn College, and a JD from the Howard University School of Law. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, consistently advocating for marginalized communities and fostering a culture of inclusion.

• Nikos Nikiforakis, Professor of Economics, NYU Abu Dhabi; Global Network Professor of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Science, NYU; Co-Director of the Center for Behavioral Institutional Design (C-BID) | NYU Abu Dhabi

  

  Nikos Nikiforakis

  Professor of Economics, NYU Abu Dhabi; Global Network Professor of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Science, NYU; Co-Director of the Center for Behavioral Institutional Design (C-BID) | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Nikos Nikiforakis is a Professor of Economics at NYU Abu Dhabi and a Global Network Professor of Economics at NYU. As well as being one of the founding researchers and Co-Director of the Center for Behavioral Institutional Design (C-BID), he is also the co-director of the Social Science Experimental Laboratory.

  His research interests are predominantly in behavioral and public economics. His main body of work consists of experimental studies (lab, field, and online) investigating factors that impact on the evolution of cooperation. Recently, he has conducted experiments in order to understand the causes and consequences of social inequalities.

  His work has been published in leading economic journals such as the American Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, European Economic Review, and Games and Economic Behavior, as well as in leading interdisciplinary journals such as Nature Communications and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

  Prior to joining NYUAD, Nikos held senior positions at the University of Melbourne (Australia), the Max Planck Institute (Germany), and the CNRS (France). Nikos is Associate Editor at the European Economic Review and the Journal of Economic Psychology and on the editorial board of the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics.

• Michaela Angela Davis, Writer, Creative Director, Producer and Image Activist

  Michaela Angela Davis

  Writer, Creative Director, Producer and Image Activist

  Michaela Angela Davis is a writer, creative director, producer, and Headshot activist focusing on the intersections of gender, race, fashion, culture, beauty, and identity. She is the creator and executive producer of HULU’s The Hair Tales, a dynamic six part docu-series celebrating Black women’s identity, beauty, culture and humanity, uniquely expressed through the stories in hair featuring Ayanna Pressley, CHIKA, Marsai Martin, Chlöe Bailey and fellow executive producers Tracee Ellis Ross and Oprah Winfrey, recently nominated for two NAACP Headshot Awards. Davis collaborated with Mariah Carey on The Meaning of Mariah Carey, a memoir of her identity — an instant #1 New York Times Bestseller. She has spoken globally and has been a cultural contributor and writer for The Atlantic, Allure, CNN, MSNBC, and the BBC. Her most recent project is another collaboration with Mariah Carey — a children's book titled The Christmas Princess, which is available now everywhere books are sold.

• Renée Blake, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Social and Cultural Analysis | New York University

  Renée Blake

  Associate Professor of Linguistics and Social and Cultural Analysis | New York University

  Renée Blake is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Linguistics and Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University (NYU) with affiliations in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) and the Department of Anthropology. She is a founding member of the Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora (CSAAD). She has served as an Associate Producer, Producer, and contributor to the EMMY-winning film series, Talking Black in America. She currently serves as the Chair of the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Council in the College of Arts and Science at NYU, and is a Faculty Lead (Ghana) for NYU’s Presidential Honors Scholars for Sophomores and Juniors. Her research examines language contact, race, ethnicity, and class with a focus on African American English, Caribbean English  Creoles, and New York City English. Her quantitative and qualitative work has been published in several professional journals and books, and she regularly does public interfacing around language in society. She is the co-founder of United Solutions Consultancy Group, a firm specializing in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), and whose mission is to increase cultural competencies and capacities and bring people closer together through their humanity. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics, a Master of Science in Linguistics, and a Bachelor of Sciences in Biology, all from Stanford University. She also studied at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia in Italy. She was a National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded scholar at the University of Amsterdam and a Fulbright Scholar at the University of the West Indies, Barbados. Dr. Blake is the recipient of numerous other awards and accolades.

• Lisa Coleman, President | Adler University

  Lisa Coleman

  President | Adler University

  A distinguished scholar with a proven track record in academia and organizational stewardship, President Lisa Coleman’s career is marked by a relentless commitment to collaboration, multi-sector partnerships, and systemic equity. She has consistently driven initiatives at the intersection of innovation, diversity, and social impact.

  President Coleman began her tenure as president of Adler University on Sept. 1, 2024, marking a new era of innovation and leadership for the institution. Her appointment as Adler University’s seventh president is historic, as she is both the first female and the first Black leader of the institution, a milestone that resonates deeply within the academic community. Founded in 1952 as the Institute of Adlerian Psychology, Adler gained university status in 2015, and President Coleman’s leadership is set to further elevate its mission of academic excellence and social impact.

  Before joining Adler, President Coleman served as New York University’s (NYU) inaugural senior vice president for global inclusion and strategic innovation. She spearheaded initiatives that helped foster cultures of co-creation, inclusive leadership, and innovation grounded in research, student, faculty, and staff development, and alum collaborations. This work occurred across NYU’s expansive global network, including its flagship in Manhattan, two portal sites in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, and numerous international sites and research centers.

  President Coleman is an interdisciplinarian who earned her doctorate in Social and Cultural Analysis, American Studies from NYU, and her master’s degrees from the Ohio State University. Her academic work in African and African American Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Communication Studies is combined with additional certifications in Leadership and Intercultural Development Theory. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Anthropology, focusing in Women’s Studies and Computer Science from Denison University.

• Rogaia M. Abusharaf, Professor of Anthropology | Georgetown University in Qatar

  Rogaia M. Abusharaf

  Professor of Anthropology | Georgetown University in Qatar

  Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf is a Professor of Anthropology at SFSQ-Georgetown University. She is the author of Wanderings (Cornell U. Press) and Transforming Displaced Women in the Sudan: Politics and the Body in a Squatter Settlement and Darfur Allegory, both from the University of Chicago Press. She is the founding Editor of Monsoon: Journal of the Indian Ocean Rim (Duke University Press). Her ethnographic work focuses on cultural anthropology and feminist ethnography, and her fieldwork encompasses Sudan, Zanzibar, and the Sultanate of Oman.

• Sarah AlZaabi, Associate Director, Global Inclusion | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Sara AlZaabi

  Associate Director, Inclusion and Equity | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Sarah AlZaabi is the Assistant Director for the Office of Inclusion and Equity and has been with NYUAD since October 2020. She completed her Masters of Art in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University

• Sara J. Musaifer, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Social Science Division | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Sara J. Musaifer

  Postdoctoral Research Associate, Social Science Division | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Sara J. Musaifer is a postdoctoral research associate at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Social Science Division. With a background in political science and public policy, she completed her doctorate degree in Comparative Education from the University of Minnesota (2022). An ethnographer of education, her research and pedagogy are rooted in Fanonian internationalism and committed to advancing educational justice in communities near and far. The journeys she walked as a learner, educator, and researcher in educational settings in Minnesota, Bahrain, and elsewhere planted seeds of curiosity about the purposes and consequences of contemporary schooling systems. Her previous and current work examines an array of themes emerging at the intersection of ideal girlhood, modern education, and nation-building in the context of colonial and contemporary Bahrain. Sara is a founding member and co-editor of AGITATE! Unsettling Knowledges, a founding board member of Language Attitude, as well as a racial literacy educator and village member of The Lion’s Story.

• Sondos Eatamadi, Tomoh Graduate Fellow, Office of Global Inclusion | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Sondos Eatamadi

  Tomoh Graduate Fellow, Office of Inclusion and Equity | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Sondos Eatamadi is a Tomoh Fellow who graduated from NYUAD with a degree in Psychology, and a master's in Work and Organizational Psychology from the University of Nottingham. Her research background explores the intersection between religious identity and well-being, focusing on how religious mechanisms promote mental health and workplace behaviors. She is committed to fostering a confident and thriving community for all.

• Thais Thomas, Assistant Instructor, Office of Social Responsibility | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Thais Thomas

  Assistant Instructor, Office of Social Responsibility | NYU Abu Dhabi

  Thais Thomas is an Assistant Instructor at NYU Abu Dhabi. An alumna of NYU Abu Dhabi's Class of 2021, Thais earned her Bachelor of Arts in History, complemented by minors in Legal Studies and African Studies. 

  In her capacity as Assistant Instructor in the Office of Social Responsibility, Thais the leads the management of adult education and capacity-building programs for our community. Her professional journey includes impactful work with a non-profit organization dedicated to adult literacy in her home country of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as previous roles at NYU Abu Dhabi within the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Inclusion and Equity.