Black Studies Research Assistant

CHLOE KOULEFIANOU

*****.***********@*****.*** 571-***-**** linkedin.com/in/chloe-koulefianou

EDUCATION

Harvard College Cambridge, MA

Sep. 2019 – Dec. 2023

Concentration: A.B. degree in Social Studies and African Studies with a citation in French. GPA: 3.91 Honors thesis, awarded high honors: “You’re Not a Country, Togo: Myth, memory, and the nation- building project in postcolonial West Africa.”

Advisors: Grace N. Ngugi & Chrystel Oloukoï

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Brown University School of Public Health, Research Assistant Remote/Providence, RI Dec. 2024 – Present

● Primary research assistant for Professor Madina Agénor’s project on Mathieu Léveillé, an enslaved man forced to be executioner in 18th-century New France.

● Conduct in-depth review of historical and biographical details by consulting archival documents and digital resources from Canada and France.

● Analyze and translate primary sources to identify research gaps and key themes, contributing to the exploration of migration, health, and social hierarchies within the context of the French colonial empire.

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Beltsville, MD June 2024 – Present

Black History Program Assistant

● Develop and coordinate public programs for departmental initiatives, including Black History Month, Echoes of the Enslaved, and Maryland Emancipation Day.

● Provide programmatic and research support for the annual Juneteenth Festival, assisting in event execution.

● Serve as front-line staff at the historic Abraham Hall, offering guided tours as needed. Foundation for Civic Leadership, Intern Cambridge, MA Sep. 2022 – Dec. 2023

● Worked towards increased civic engagement on college campuses through the Ask-Your-College campaign, writing letters to 95 universities in Georgia in preparation for senate run-off elections.

● Connected with over 300 Harvard alumni in the civic sphere, collaborating to support youth voter participation.

● Organized Democracy Center archives dating back to 2001. Derek Bok Center, Learning Lab Undergraduate Fellow Cambridge, MA Jan. 2023 – Dec. 2023

● Collaborated with instructors to design innovative teaching materials and approaches.

● Designed spaces for project-based learning and technology-integrated classrooms.

● Provided assistance to students using audiovisual equipment and software. Radcliffe Research Partnership, Research Partner Remote/Cambridge, MA Sep. 2020 – May 2022

● Translated early 19th century documents from French to English in preparation for the first biography on Suzanne Louverture with California State University Channel Islands’ Professor Robin Mitchell.

● Used statistical analysis through R to explore police application of lethal force to different age groups with Columbia University’s Professor Rajiv Sethi.

● Examined language in writing from university deans with Professor Anthony Abraham Jack to research college diversity and how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequalities within higher education.

● Attend Radcliffe Research Partnership Library Workshops and engage with webinars and lectures from other Radcliffe Fellows to improve research skills and learn interdisciplinary methods. Africans Rising, Communications & Engagement Intern Remote June 2021 – Sep. 2021

● Drafted bi-weekly newsletters and support the management of a database of more than 30,000 members.

● Developed strategic communications plans for activities and campaigns, including the creation of a daily social media posting schedule and member profile submissions to spotlight African activists.

LEADERSHIP

Neighbor Program Cambridge Remote/Cambridge, MA

Jan. 2022 – Dec. 2023

● Managed and coordinated a food distribution program serving unhoused in Harvard and Central Square.

● Led a team of more than 50 volunteers in sourcing and sharing food.

● Facilitated biweekly political education meetings covering topics from Pan-Africanism to radical love.

Black Students Association, Political Action Chair Remote/Cambridge, MA Sep. 2019 – Dec. 2023

• Spearheaded an initiative to reach 100% voting participation in Harvard’s Black community by working with the Harvard Votes Challenge to organize voter registration events and community- wide objectives.

• Organized conferences, panels, and other programming to keep Harvard’s Black community politically informed and engaged.

Harvard Radio Broadcasting Remote/Cambridge, MA

Sep. 2019 – Dec. 2023

Blues Department Head & Administrative Board Member

● Direct the blues department’s air schedule, new member training, and seven-week comp process.

● Catalog, digitize, and manage physical media collection of over 500 LPs and CDs.

● Write, record, and air shows for the Greater Boston area for four different departments within the station.

Institute of Politics Remote/Cambridge, MA

Sep. 2019 – Dec. 2023

Political Engagement Committee, Politics of Race & Ethnicity, Policy Program

● Coordinate events with other Political Action Chairs in cultural affinity groups to encourage civic engagement across a variety of cultural backgrounds as a member of the Political Engagement Committee.

● Engage with speakers such as in a discussion series focused on topics surrounding race and race relations as a member of Politics of Race & Ethnicity.

● Conducted academic research on voting and criminal justice to create policy recommendations for The Urban Institute and the state of Ohio’s election commission. BlackCAST, Costume Director Cambridge, MA

Sep. 2021 – May 2022

● Designed, sourced, and altered costumes for two productions with casts of more than 20 people. GRANTS AND AWARDS

Center for Hellenic Studies Teaching Fellow, Committee on Degrees in Social Studies May 2023

● Awarded to four Harvard undergraduates for support in teaching a two-week program in Nafplio, Greece about the foundations of the social sciences.

● Worked with other fellows to plan, coordinate, and teach college-level seminars to 22 Greek high school students.

Summer Travel Grant, Harvard College Center for African Studies May 2023

● Awarded to Harvard undergraduate students traveling to Africa for thesis research, internships, volunteer work, or study abroad.

Robert Bacon Fund Grant, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures May 2023

● Awarded to a restricted number of Harvard undergraduates who wish to pursue summer study, research, or internships in France.

Rogers Family Research Fellow, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs May 2022

● Awarded to 15 to 20 travel Harvard undergraduate students to support summer field research.

● Published in the fall 2022 edition of WCFIA’s Centerpiece newsletter. Summer Thesis Research Grant, Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights May 2022

● Awarded to Harvard juniors with research for a senior honors thesis. John Harvard Scholar, Harvard College

2019 – 2023

● Awarded semesterly to students in the top 5% of their class SKILLS

Technical: Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Suite, R programming, Python, Zotero. Languages: Proficient in French, intermediate fluency in Spanish. RELEVANT COURSEWORK

● Race and Ethnicity in a Comparative Perspective (Professor Amsale “Amy” Alemu)

● Introduction to African Studies (Professor Jacob Olupona)

● Introduction to Social Studies (Professor Brandon M. Terry)

● A Black History of Electronic Dance Music (Professor George Aumoithe)

● Music and Resistance in the United States (Professor Lucy Caplan)

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