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Kahlila Williams

  • 2025

Fellowship

PhD Student

Research Concentration

  • K-12 Education Policy

Research Interest

Civic Engagement, Youth Advocacy, Abolitionist Education Work, Black Student Experiences, Foster Care, Education Access, Education Policy, Higher Ed, K-12
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Contact Information

Advisor(s)

  • Dwuana Bradley, Royel Johnson

Research Center

Bio

Kahlila Williams is a first-year Ph.D. student in K–12 Education Policy at the USC Rossier School of Education, advised by Dr. Dwuana Bradley and Dr. Royel Johnson. Her research explores how grassroots youth organizing shapes education policy, with a focus on the Black Student Achievement Plan in Los Angeles Unified School District.

Before joining USC, Kahlila earned her B.A. in Sociology and African American Studies, with a minor in Community Engagement and Social Change, from UCLA. She served as a Research Assistant at the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families, supporting data collection and analysis on racial equity initiatives, domestic violence prevention, and child welfare policy, with an emphasis on removing carceral language in research tools. She has extensive experience in civic engagement, youth advocacy, and abolitionist education work through leadership roles in Students Deserve, Project Knucklehead, and the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard.

Kahlila has been recognized as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Bunche Fellow, and USC Graduate School Fellowship awardee.

Awards and Grants

USC Graduate School Fellowship, 2025-2029

Ronald E. McNair Scholar, 2024-2025

 

Publications