Sharon Harley is the Principal Investigator and Project Director of the African/Black Diaspora Research Seminar at the University of Maryland. She is an associate professor and former chair of the African American Studies Department at Maryland. Dr. Harley is the recipient of the W.E. B. Du Bois fellowship at Harvard's Hutchins Center and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies.

Al-Hafis (Hafis) Adegun is a graduate of the Department of African American Studies at the University of Maryland (B.A. '20) and he serves as Research Assistant and Student Program Coordinator for the African/Black Diaspora Research Seminar. Hafis will pursue graduate studies at The George Washington University School of Medicine.

Norlisha Crawford is Professor Emerita in the Department of English and former director of the African American Studies program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She is copy-editor for the African/Black Diaspora Research Seminar. Dr. Crawford’s areas of scholarly expertise include African American detective and mystery fiction, with an emphasis on the Harlem series by author Chester Himes.
 

T’Sey-Haye M. Preaster is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland, and she serves as Digital Humanities and Social Media Coordinator for the African/Black Diaspora Research Seminar. She holds a B.A. in African American Studies and Sociology from Smith College and M.A. in American Studies from the University of Maryland. T’Sey-Haye’s research examines the histories and lived experiences of Black women working strategically to (re)define the meaning and mission of philanthropy for/by Black communities in the United States.

Erica Puentes is a faculty assistant in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Maryland, and she serves as Research Assistant and Administrative Coordinator for the African/Black Diaspora Research Seminar. Erica holds a dual B.A. in American Studies and African American Studies with a minor in U.S. Latina/o Studies from the University of Maryland.

Sarah Scriven is a Ph.D. student in the Harriet Tubman Department for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Maryland, and she serves as Program Coordinator for the African/Black Diaspora Research Seminar. Sarah researches Black Feminist Intellectual History with a focus on the life and legacy of Pauli Murray.