Dr. Allen Kent
Dr. Allen Kent earned his PhD in Modern American/African American History at the University of Florida in 2015. His dissertation research focused on the African American Police League in Chicago, founded in 1968, and he worked as the Graduate Coordinator at SPOHP in 2012 after interning in 2011.
At SPOHP, Allen coordinated the internship program, managing workflow and interview processing, and teaching the academic internship class. In Summer 2014, he taught the “Introduction to Oral History” course and organized a project for the students that involved researching the history of UF’s Campus Multi-Faith Cooperative.
Allen currently works as a Staff Historian for SEARCH, Inc., a cultural resource management firm in nearby Newberry, FL, where he uses archival research, analysis of historic maps and photographs, and oral history interviews to contextualize various archaeological and architectural history projects. He received his BA in History from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2007 and MA from the University of Florida in 2010.
Candice Ellis
Candice Ellis graduated from UF in 2012 with an MA in History. She received her BA from UF in History in 2010. Candice worked as a staff member at SPOHP from 2010-2009 after working as an intern in 2009, and attended the Mississippi Freedom Project research trip for three years.
At SPOHP, Candice worked as a transcriber and field researcher. She wrote her master’s thesis on the rise of the UFCW Catfish Worker’s union in the Delta, and coordinated several major research projects, including the Panama Canal initiative and Federal Judges Project.
Candice was the recipient of the 2011 Leland Hawes Prize in Florida History, awarded by the Tampa Bay History Center and the University of South Florida’s Florida Studies Center. She is currently studying for her PhD in History at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Chris Duryea
Chris Duryea graduated from UF in 2012 with a B.A. in History and minors in Russian Studies and Education. Chris wrote her History honors thesis using research at SPOHP on resegregation in public schools, based on research she completed at the program. She attended the Mississippi Freedom Project’s annual trip in 2012 to collect oral history interviews with notable civil rights veterans and residents of the Delta.
Chris is ESOL-certified and currently works for the Sylvan Learning Center.
Nailah Summers
Nailah Summers is currently studying history and philosophy at the University of Florida. She attended the Mississippi Freedom Project’s annual research trip in 2011 and 2012.
Nailah currently leads the UF chapter of Dream Defenders, a student-led coalition of black and brown youth in Florida working to create social change through nonviolent civil disobedience, civic engagement, and direct action, on systemic problems like racial profiling and the school-to-prison pipeline. She received her Associate Degree in Philosophy from Miami Dade College.
Caroline Vickers
Caroline Vickers graduated from UF in 2012, earning a BA in History and minor in Leadership Studies. She attended the Mississippi Freedom Project’s annual research trip in 2011 and coordinated the SPOHP public program, “Inside the Activists Studio: A Sit Down with Margaret Block” in February 2012. She completed her history honors thesis on Booker T. Washington’s influence in Southern education under Dr. Paul Ortiz.
Caroline is currently studying law at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Cecilia-Rose Greco
Cecilia-Rose Greco graduated from UF in 2012 with BAs in History and English.
Following her internship with SPOHP, Cecilia interned at the Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, where she focused on studying political prisoners in Czechoslovakia. She also studied at a workshop from the Huizinga Instituut in Amsterdam on oral history and memory, and interned at the Czech oral history program, PoliticalPrisoners.eu.
Ayana Flewellen
Ayana Flewellen graduated from UF in 2012. She was an intern at SPOHP from 2010-2012 and worked primarily with the African American History Project. Ayana is currently pursuing her MA in African and African Diaspora Studies in combination with a PhD in Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Keilani Jacquot
Keilani Jacquot earned BAs in Anthropology and Spanish from the University of Florida and volunteered with SPOHP on various projects, including conducting and transcribing oral history interviews, engaging with local community organizations, and creating educational materials. One major project involved updating and creating educational programming for the Pleasant Street Historic Society on the history of the first black neighborhood of Gainesville, Florida, which PSHS now shares with the local community in an effort to foster a deeper knowledge and understanding of an important cultural and historical legacy. Keilani is currently pursuing opportunities to encourage cultural and historical awareness and understanding.
For additional information, contact SPOHP, call the offices at (352) 392-7168, and connect with us online today.