Janay M. Watts ’10

Janay is a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development. As a graduate researcher with the Racial Empowerment Collaborative and Dr. Howard Stevenson, Watts is using film and mixed methods to highlight complex racial matters in schools and community. Her independent research explores issues related to critical race socialization of Black children from the womb to adulthood. In particular, she is invested in disrupting the morbidity rate of Black women through a critical race lens, examining the intersection of race, gender, health, social media and pregnancy/delivery/recovery. She is a black and Mexican woman (2nd generation) born and raised in Stockton, Calif. She is a new mother, wife, scholar, organizer and emerging filmmaker. After completing her degree at Princeton, Watts earned her master’s degree in the Social and Cultural Analysis of Education Program at California State University Long Beach in May 2016.