Who We Are

We are a community of highly motivated women of color of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds who come together to help each other complete the dissertation and earn the doctorate. Most of us are the first generation in our families to earn an advanced degree or a doctorate. Our diversity extends to our disciplines and universities. Our disciplines include Mathematics, Education, Sociology, Psychology and Social Work. We are from different universities including the University of Maryland, George Washington University, Howard University and the University of London. We form community based on the principles of interdependence, non-competitiveness, compassion and mutual respect. We are a project of EduSeedà‚®, a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization that promotes education among historically disadvantaged and underserved communities such as women and people of color. We exist because studies show that 50% of all people who begin a doctorate drop out at the dissertation writing stage. Evidence suggests that the numbers are higher for women of color. Statistics show that the number of women of color doctorates in the last 25 years has been extremely low. Our goal is to increase the number of women of color doctorates. We have helped 56 women of color to earn doctorates. We have a list of women waiting to join us. We give back to our community by mentoring girls of color in elementary, middle and high schools in the Washington, D.C. area. Our message to girls of color is to stay in school, do well and go on to college. Our mentoring of girls is a testament to our concern about the high drop-out rate among girls of color, particularly Latina, African American, Asian American, Native American and girls who are immigrants. We believe that as women of color we can play a significant role in reducing the high drop-out rate by being role models — opening the eyes of girls of color to college educated women of color who have persevered and achieved academic success despite the odds.