Imani Campbell

Fulbright/IOE-Faculty of Education and Society at University College London

Imani Campbell began her academic journey at Fisk University where she graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and History in 2021. During her junior year, she became increasingly aware of the detrimental impact low early literacy scores can have on children’s life trajectories. This propelled her to create a volunteer community initiative called the Reading Scholars Program that she later transformed into a nonprofit she co-founded in 2023 called Reading in Color: Children’s Literacy + Social Emotional Learning.

Imani’s community involvement also inspired her senior honors research in which she investigated disparities in 3rd grade reading scores among children in Nashville. Her research revealed a strong correlation between schools with low reading scores and those serving racially diverse, economically disadvantaged neighborhoods not only across the city but also across the U.S. She also observed similar trends in several other OECD nations including the UK.

While at UCL, Imani hopes to gain insight into how particular societal factors can improve literacy attainment to enhance the socioeconomic mobility of poor children in both the UK and US with a long-term goal of discovering social interventions and strategies that benefit children worldwide.