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Profilehdeharo2019-09-25T13:05:12+00:00
Rokeshia Ashley
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Journalism, University of Missouri, Columbia, May 2018Certificates of Grantsmanship and Public HealthDissertation: An examination of Black women’s health information understanding andnegotiation of engagement in skin whiteningAdvisor: Yong Volz, Ph.D.M.S., Fashion and Apparel Studies, University of Delaware, May 2015Thesis: Cross cultural comparison of Black women’s body image highlighting SaartjieBaartman and motivations to engage in body modificationAdvisor: Jaehee Jung, Ph.D.
Phone: 305-919-4164
Office ACII 339D (BBC)
Dr. Rokeshia Renné Ashley is a Miami native and mother to her daughter, Emery. Dr. Ashley is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Florida International University. She is a highly productive scholar whose research on Black women’s bodies and Black maternal health has been published in several books and journals, such as Communication, Culture & Critique; The Howard Journal of Communications; Health Communication; and Journal of Black Studies. She is a co-lead for the “Black Mothers Care Plan: Reducing Racial Bias and Supporting Maternal Infant Health” initiative funded by the Children's Trust as one of the 2021 Early Childhood Community Research Demonstration Projects in collaboration with the Center for Women and Gender Studies at FIU in Partnership with The Gathering Place/Magnolia House and the Behavioral Science Research Institute.
Dr. Ashley’s research has been featured by The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The Miami Times, National Public Radio’s Academic Minute, The Conversation, Yahoo! News, Black Enterprise, Tavis Smiley’s KBLA 1580 am, Areva Martin’s The Special Report, Allure Magazine and more; collectively over 60 million readers across varying platforms. To broaden the impact of her work, Dr. Ashley published the children’s book SunFlower Child in 2020. Born from her original research conducted in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the book provides a remedy for colorism and color caste systems to encourage Black and Brown girls to love, care for, and protect their skin. It also features illustrations inspired by landmark spaces in Miami, specifically Little Haiti and Liberty City.
Dr. Ashley has presented numerous papers at academic conferences like the International Communication Association, National Communication Association (NCA), and National Association of African American Studies conferences and has accepted a university invitation to speak about her research in South Africa. She is an awardee for the Florida Education Fund’s Junior Faculty Fellowship, FIU’s Miami Studies Fellowship, NCA Research Cultivation Grant, Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel TRIO Achiever, University of Missouri Trailblazer Award, and FIU Presidential Leadership Program participant.
Dr. Ashley’s research has been featured by The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The Miami Times, National Public Radio’s Academic Minute, The Conversation, Yahoo! News, Black Enterprise, Tavis Smiley’s KBLA 1580 am, Areva Martin’s The Special Report, Allure Magazine and more; collectively over 60 million readers across varying platforms. To broaden the impact of her work, Dr. Ashley published the children’s book SunFlower Child in 2020. Born from her original research conducted in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the book provides a remedy for colorism and color caste systems to encourage Black and Brown girls to love, care for, and protect their skin. It also features illustrations inspired by landmark spaces in Miami, specifically Little Haiti and Liberty City.
Dr. Ashley has presented numerous papers at academic conferences like the International Communication Association, National Communication Association (NCA), and National Association of African American Studies conferences and has accepted a university invitation to speak about her research in South Africa. She is an awardee for the Florida Education Fund’s Junior Faculty Fellowship, FIU’s Miami Studies Fellowship, NCA Research Cultivation Grant, Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel TRIO Achiever, University of Missouri Trailblazer Award, and FIU Presidential Leadership Program participant.