Dr. Avriel Epps

Assistant Professor of Critical Quantitative Methods in the School of Education

ai4.org

Civic Science Postdoctoral Fellow at the Citizens and Technology lab (CATLab) run by J. Nathan Matias. This position is funded by the generous support of the Rita Allen Foundation.

Completed a dissertation titled "Algorithms, Abolition, and African American Youth Development: Theorizing and Examining the Impacts of Artificial Intelligence Systems on Black Adolescents in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter"

Contribute to various algorithmic bias studies on the Tech Research team.

SeekU is an education startup that provides college admissions counseling for high school students with a focus on helping students develop greater self-awareness, purpose, and the tools needed to mindfully transition out of high school. I managed the development of 3 tech products, design and build-out of a 2,700 square foot college prep studio, and a team of 6. We successfully raised a small round of funding and reached profitability, with students gaining acceptances at Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, and Cornell.

Developed organization-wide diversity and inclusion strategy. Mentored student entrepreneurs at the beginning stages of founding companies in the tech, e-commerce, health and beauty, and non-profit spaces.

In the winter of 2012, I dedicated my full-ride scholarship gifted by UCLA to the production and release of an album. Over the next two years, I, along with a recruited team of 21, worked to create Thesis, the first project released under the artist name King avriel. Thesis was released to critical acclaim in 2014, hailed as "prodigious"​ by the Huffington Post and "​... a cerebrally significant gift" by The Gaurdian. The album was streamed 1.8 million times, the digital booklet released to accompany the album was downloaded over 100,000 times, and the project was featured in The New York Times, Vogue Magazine, Vice Magazine, Lucky Magazine, Billboard, LA Weekly and more. In 2014, the project caught the attention of Jay Z's Life+Times and Solange Knowles' Saint Heron. I was also asked to be part of an Olympics PSA that was viewed over 1 million times on YouTube. The project garnered the attention of major record labels and notable indie labels including Interscope, RCA, Atlantic, Columbia, Capitol, XL, Warner Brothers, and more; however, our team had little interest in signing a major label contract at the time. In 2015, I was invited to contribute a song for the Grand Theft Auto soundtrack alongside notable artists such as Little Dragon, Action Bronson, Earl Sweatshirt, Phantogram, and more. Through the process of creating and releasing the conceptual album, I managed a team of producers, engineers, graphic designers, publicists, and agents. Our team successfully executed a global PR strategy (garnering press in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia), a multi-channel social media strategy that resulted in over 8 million impressions, over 75k followers across platforms, and strategic collaborations with brands including Nike, Puma, Soundcloud, ASOS, Redbull, Converse, and Stussy.

While at the CHOICES lab, I collaborated with PhD students and UCLA senior faculty on research that examined high school counselors and outreach/intervention programs within CA high schools, at UCLA, and within the Los Angeles community. - Assisted in the analysis and intepretation of 10 years' worth of qualitative and quantitative data. - Worked on multiple on-going projects that examine traits of successful college-going environments at local high schools. - Second author on two papers accepted at the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) conference. - Spearheaded a project that seeks to understand how students’ academic and social identities shape college-going aspirations and ability to successfully attend college. (Advisor: Dr. W Allen) Academic Conference Presentations: “Cracking the Concrete: An Examination of How Urban High School Counselors Utilize Critical Hope to Actualize College Aspirations.” The Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). St. Louis, MI. November, 2013. “Counselor Calculus: (Mis)Conceptions of the University of California Post-209 + (Mis)Perceptions of Student-Institutional Fit = Implications for African American College Choice.” The Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). St. Louis, MI. November, 2013.

As a McNair Scholar and beyond, I worked as PI on a multi-level content analysis and media effects study called "Sharing Playlists and Prejudice: The role of Selective Exposure and Racial Ideologies in Consumption and Exhibition of Rap Music on Facebook." The study aimed to understand the sharing behaviors and effects of hip hop music in online social networks. One manuscript derived from the study was accepted for 2017 Publication in the Journal of Broadcast and Electronic Media. - Conducted Comparative Content Analysis - Formed, trained, and led team of 4 content analysis coders/research assistants and 1 Faculty member - Created 50+ page comprehensive survey and content analysis codebook - Analyzed quantitative data using advanced statistical models with SPSS - Awarded Communication Studies departmental honors for 197 pg senior thesis. (Advisor: Dr. TL Dixon) Academic Conference Presentations: “The Range of Rap: Exploring Pro and Anti-Social Lyric Themes That Emerge on Traditional and New Media Outlets.” Broadcast Education Association. Las Vegas, N.V.. April 7, 2014. “Rap and the Racist Radio: An Exploration of Anti-Social and Pro-Social Rap Themes Found in Traditional and New Media Outlets.” National Association for African American Studies National Conference. Baton Rouge, LA. February 11, 2013. “Rap & Online Identity: Exploring How Hip Hop Fans Use Facebook To Share Anti- and Pro-Social Messages.” Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Associations Conference. Albuquerque, NM. Feb 16, 2013. “Radio (Hip-Hop) Heads: A Content Analysis of Pro and Anti-Social Lyrical Themes in Top Rap Songs.” UCLA McNair Symposium. Los Angeles, CA. July 31, 2012. “Mixtapes and Race: Hip-hop, Identity, & The Net.” Westwind Poster Conference. Los Angeles, CA.May 23, 2012.