Deborah Olatunji (she/her) is a Nigerian-American storyteller, creative multi-hyphenate, and visual artist from New Castle, Delaware. She currently is a junior studying Psychology with minors in Anthropology and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. On campus, she’s an SNF Paideia Fellow, peer counselor for Penn Benjamins, and member of a spoken word group, the Excelano Project. Deborah sees the practice of intentional dialogue with others as an opening to allow her to think critically and deeply about current issues such as racial injustice, gender inequality, voter suppression, and climate change.
She hosts the Voices of Disruption Podcast, a soft-life show all about finding glory in the mystery and letting uncertainty hold your hand. She could talk and learn about poetry, mental health advocacy, and sustainable fashion all day. Deb is looking forward to being in the IA/JGS fellowship and cannot wait “to see how our ideas will grow and transform as we build around and with each other!”
I am curious about we can bridge conversations on mental health advocacy into every area of our lives, especially in the academic world. Citizenship has been redefined over the past year and intentional empathy is more important than ever before.