Department of Geography
<p>Michelle Tokunbo Oluwaseyi Oyewole (aka “Toke”) is a doctoral candidate in the UCSB Department of Geography. Her dissertation research examines social and environmental outcomes of school gardening, with a focus on varying effects in neighborhoods of different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic composition. During her time at UCSB, she has been a member of the UCSB Black Resources Committee, the UCSB Graduate Student Association, the UC Student Association, and she was a finalist in the 2014 UCSB Grad Slam. She was the 2016-2017 chair of the UC Student Association (UCSA) Graduate and Professional Student Committee. In this position she advocated for equity and affordability for UC graduate students. She served as editor-in-chief of the 2016 UC Graduate Policy Journal. She organized the first UC system-wide Graduate Day of Action (focusing on faculty diversity, initiating cultural competency trainings, faculty mentorship practices, and disparities in standard of living among graduate students of different identities). She has conducted research on and advocated for reform in graduate education in meetings with the UC Office of the President, federal and state legislators, and student leaders from all UC campuses.</p>