Dr. Ocqua Gerlyn Murrell (she/they) is a sociologist, Black/Caribbean feminist, and curator. Her work is inspired by her own transnational girlhood between the States, La Republica Dominicana, and the island of Sint Maarten. She co-creates knowledge with Afro-Caribbean girls in the Dutch West Indies to explore how the girls narrate, navigate, and negotiate their girlhood experiences. She also explores the transitional period between girlhood and woman/adulthood. Dr. Murrell has created what she is calling a transnational Black girlhood feminist (TBGF) framework. Her other research and teaching interests include sex education curriculums, reproductive justice, Black/Caribbean/Transnational feminisms, social inequality, gender relations, women’s studies, queer studies, and sex work.

Dr. Murrell received her Ph.D. in Sociology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is an Assistant Professor in the Women’s Department at the University of Florida. Her work aims to give volume and visibility to the stories of Black women and girls and LGBTQ+ folx in the west and from the global south.