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Brittney (she/her) is a 5th-year Ph.D. student in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis program at UW-Madison, working alongside Dr. Rachelle Winkle-Wagner. As an interdisciplinary scholar, her research explores the role intimate relationships (e.g., friends, family, romantic partnerships) play in Black women academics’ experience of work/health (im)balance and care labor. 

Before beginning her doctoral studies, Brittney received a dual Bachelor’s degree in Human Development (B.S.) and Psychology (B.A.) from SUNY-Binghamton and a Master’s degree in Higher Education with a concentration in Student Affairs from Boston College. Brittney is the eldest daughter of Caribbean immigrants and spent most of her childhood in a small town on Long Island, NY. Her favorite pastimes include arts and crafts, listening to podcasts, social dancing, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Awards and Service
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Health Policy Research Scholars (HPRS) Fellowship Recipient ($124,000), 2023-2027
Member of LEADS Executive Board (ELPA Graduate Student Organization)
AERA Division J Graduate Student Representative At-Large, 2024-2025
ELPA Certificate of Recognition, 2025, 2026
AERA Graduate Student Council Certificate of Appreciation, 2025
Conceptual Innovation in Higher Education Research, The Sankofa Scholarship Collective, 2025
Marilyn Gaddis Travel Fellowship ($550), 2025

Publications

Pemberton, B., Winkle-Wagner, R., Magasano, D., & Goosby, B. (2025). “Don’t let it get in the way of work”: Black women academics’ navigation of romantic relationships. The Journal of Higher Education, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2025.2461989

Winkle-Wagner, R., Goosby, B., Kelly, B.T., & Pemberton, B. (2025). Relationships between discrimination, stress, and health among Black women faculty in higher education. In L.W. Perna (ed.) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 41, 1-40. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-86738-5_8-1

Jama, S., Pemberton, B., Winkle-Wagner, R., Quince, H., & Goosby, B. (2026). “I have kids, and that’s my priority:” Black motherhood in the academy. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education

Carpenter, A., Peters, C., Pemberton, B., & Benson, J. (2026). Black joy and the evolution of collective effervescence. Race and Social Problems, 18(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-026-09506-z

Carpenter, A., Benson, J., Lewis, T., Pemberton, B., Feraud-King, T., Chinkondenji, C., Henry, D. (2026). Visualizing beyond the mask: Black collegians cultivating safety through joy. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 26(1)

Wallace, J., Pemberton, B., Benson, J., Greer, C.D. (revise & resubmit). Black love: A dialogue on the tensions and possibilities of loving communion within the academy.

Benson, J., Pemberton, B., Washington, L.F., Winkle-Wagner, R. Goosby, B. (revise & resubmit). The paradox of Black joy: Black women academics’ navigation of tenure-track faculty positions.

Castro Samayoa, A., Nguyen, B. M. D., Lally, M., & Pemberton, B. (2023). Intertwined crises: California’s public universities’ responses to COVID-19 and anti-Asian animus, January 2020 to June 2021. American Behavioral Scientist, 67(12), 1510-1531.

Projects

Health Profiles of Black Women Faculty (Co-PI Rachelle Winkle Wagner and Bridget Goosby), Project Manager.

Teaching 

TA: ELPA887: Diversity and Inequality in Higher Education (001) FA24 (Fall 2024)

TA: ELPA940: Critical Theories and Data Analysis (Spring 2025)

TA: ELPA824: Field Research Designs & Methodologies in Educational Administration (Spring 2025)

Conference Attendance

Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Annual Meeting

American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting