The Cohort Sistas Podcast
The Cohort Sistas Podcast is an empowering and enlightening podcast that holds space for Black women and nonbinary doctoral degree holders to share their stories, experiences, and expertise. Each episode features an engaging interview on a wide range of topics, including academic trajectory, application process, mentorship, funding, career development, mental health, and social issues. Hosted by Cohort Sistas Founder and Executive Director Dr. Ijeoma Kola, The Cohort Sistas Podcast is known for its authentic and relatable approach, providing listeners with valuable insights, practical advice, and a sense of community. Whether you're looking for inspiration, encouragement, or simply a thought-provoking conversation, this podcast is a must-listen for aspiring doctors seeking to connect, learn, and thrive.
Cohort Sistas provides digital resources, mentorship, and community to improve equity in doctoral education. While our programs and platform are open to all doctoral students, applicants, and degree holders, we prioritize and center the needs and perspectives of Black women and nonbinary scholars.
Be sure to follow us on social at https://www.twitter.com/cohortsistas and https://www.instagram.com/cohortsistas, and visit our website at https://www.cohortsistas.org.
Episodes
96 episodes
Dr. Shelly Ann Gajadhar on Finding Balance between High Achievement and Soft Life
Today, we're joined by the inspiring Dr. Shelly Ann Gajadhar, a Caribbean woman from Trinidad and Tobago, who shares her incredible journey from being a criminal prosecutor to obtaining her doctoral degree focusing on the Triple Helix Model of ...
Empowering Black Women and Nonbinary Doctoral Students Through Shared Experiences and Advice
At the end of episodes 202 to 219, we asked our guests to share advice with listeners embarking on a Ph.D. journey. This episode is a compilation of all that they shared, from Dr. Jen Fry’s word of warning not to let younger students make you f...
Dr. Ebony Butler on Being the Healthiest Version of Yourself During Your Doctoral Program
What you focus on during your doctoral program can heavily influence the state of your well-being. Your doctorate can be a scary, confusing, and complex time, and oftentimes a lot of your foundations can be up in the air. So give yourself some ...
Dr. Marvette Lacy on Scrappy Roots to Successful Dissertation Completion and Business Building
The story we bring to life today is that of Dr. Marvette Lacy, the Founder, and CEO of Qual Scholars, a coaching and membership program that helps higher education professionals and doctoral students finish their dissertations and build consult...
Dr. Mikal Woldu on Switching Academic Supervisors & Redefining Pan-Africanism
In this episode of Cohort Sistas, the podcast, we speak with Dr. Mikal Woldu, who received her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from SOAS University of London. Dr. Woldu is of Eritrean heritage and grew up in Italy before moving to London. This mig...
Dr. Kristen Nichole on Balancing Research & Entrepreneurship and Pole Movement as Stress Relief
Today’s guest Dr. Kristen Nichole turned to pole movement as a way to cope with the stress of doing a Ph.D. This led her to start her business, Polecology, while continuing to work in qualitative research. In this episode, she shares her story ...
Dr. Chantrell Frazier on Navigating the Highs and Lows of Doctoral Life and Finding Community Beyond the Lab
When you are in the midst of doing a doctoral program it’s easy to get swept up in the work and sideline other important aspects of your life, like building friendships and finding community. But when we do this we miss out on potentially life-...
Dr. Terrion Williamson on the Current Attack on Black Studies and Pursuing a PhD After Going to Law School
Today we speak with Dr. Terrion Williamson, an associate professor of Black Studies and Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. Originally from Peoria, Illinois, Dr. Williamson didn’t have an awareness of what it wou...
Dr. Toyin Alli of the Academic Society on Going Against the Grain & Trusting Your Decisions
We are so lucky and excited to sit down with Dr. Toyin Alli in today's episode to talk about her inspiring and somewhat unusual path through academia, and why she chose to focus on teaching above all the other areas of the tertiary educational ...
Dr. Reka Barton on Centering Black Girls in the Conversation and Owning Her Doctoral Journey
Dr. Reka Barton received a Ph.D. in education from the joint doctoral program with San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University. Today, she works as a diversity postgraduate faculty fellow for the School of Leadership and Educat...
Dr. Fatu Badiane Markey on Working at a Non-Profit After Completing a Science PhD
We all know that the journey to getting your Ph.D. can be arduous and often non-linear, but what happens after you’ve received your degree? What if the traditional academic path doesn’t turn out to be precisely what you want to do? Today, we we...
Dr. Geniece Crawford Mondé on Conducting Research with Humility and Self-Awareness
Conducting research with vulnerable populations calls for a special kind of humility and self-awareness. Joining us today to share her doctoral journey and provide insight into her dissertation research on formerly incarcerated mothers and thei...
Dr. Ayanna Abrams on Finding Security In a Doctoral Program and Prioritizing Mental Health
Completing your educational journey without a break — from undergrad to earning a doctoral degree — is no easy feat. And it’s not uncommon to find that these candidates often have specific ideas on what they would have done differently after sp...
Dr. Tassiana Moura de Oliveira on Getting an Academic Job in the US after a Doctoral Degree in Brazil
It is one thing being a Black woman pursuing a doctoral degree, but to be a female Brazilian Black immigrant in the United States is an entirely different ball game. Today’s guest knows all about what it’s like to do a Ph.D. in a foreign countr...
Dr. Julia Nepper on Starting a Ph.D. at 18 & The Power of Peer Mentorship
Dr. Julia Nepper was thrust into advanced academia at the remarkable age of 12 when she enrolled in community college. She went on to do her doctoral degree at age 18 and in this episode, we hear about her extraordinary education journey. With ...
Dr. Nsa Dada on Pursuing Postgraduate Studies and Building a Career Around the World
Dr. Nsa Dada is a vector biologist and microbial ecologist who studies how microbes shape mosquito biology and mosquito-borne disease transmission. Dr. Dada is currently an assistant professor at Arizona State University, the Mosquito Microbiom...
Dr. Lauren Kendall Brooks on Why She Intentionally Pursued a Doctoral Degree at an HBCU and Co-Founding Black in Pysch
During today’s episode, we welcome Dr. Lauren D. Kendall Brooks, who holds a Ph.D. in Health Psychology with a concentration in behavioral and community health science. She is a research scientist at Assessment for Good where she works on build...
Dr. Anna Ampaw on Creating Her Own Community While Pursuing Her Doctoral Degree.
Getting a Ph.D. is not for the faint of heart and as a Black woman, social isolation can make it even more difficult. Here today on The Cohort Sistas Podcast is the incredible Dr. Anna Ampaw to tell us all about the highs and lows of the pursui...
Dr. Natasha N. Johnson on Creating a Space for Herself and Her Family in Her Doctoral Journey
Finding the time to ‘do it all’ can feel impossible because, well, it is. Joining us today on The Cohort Sistas Podcast is Dr. Natasha N. Johnson to tell us all about how she juggles (and sometimes doesn’t juggle) being an educator, writer, and...
Dr. Jen Fry on Being an Older Doctoral Student and Black Woman Athletes Competing Overseas
Sports and geography are deeply interconnected, often more so than most of us realize. From the ways that location impacts your fanbase as a sports team to how your identity as a Black female athlete shapes your experiences when competing overs...
Season 2 Overview and Season 1 Recap
Have you missed us? Welcome to 2023 and our exciting new season of the Cohort Sistas Podcast. Thank you for a phenomenal first season! In this episode, we shed light on why you haven’t heard from us and what brings us back now, before recapping...
Dr. Thato Motlhalamme on Pursuing a PhD That Pushes You Outside of Your Comfort Zone
Today on the show we invite Dr. Thato Motlhalamme, who is here to impart some valuable and hard-won advice on pushing your comfort zones, trusting your voice, and standing up for yourself in spaces where you aren’t being heard! Author of Ho...
Dr. Bukola Salami on Advancing the Academic Ranks Quickly and Developing a Robust Program of Research
There's a common perception that if you wish to pursue academia and tenure, then you need to solely focus on institutional work. Today I'm speaking with Dr. Bukola Salami, an Associate Professor of Nursing and Director of the Intersections of G...
Dr. Adia Gooden on Unconditional Self-Worth and Choosing Entrepreneurship Over an Academic Career
Many of us anchor our self-worth to our achievements, be they academic, physical, or fiscal. While we may find it motivating in the short term, the long-term effects of this can often result in unhealthy coping mechanisms and a paradoxically lo...
Dr. Clara Mundia on the Cultural & Financial Challenges of Pursuing a Doctoral Degree as an International Student
While navigating a doctoral degree program as a Black woman has its challenges, if you are an immigrant studying in the USA, this path can be even more difficult. Today we speak with Dr. Clara Mundia from Kenya who received her Ph.D. in Environ...