Holly Okonkwo

Holly Okonkwo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC San Diego and core faculty in the Critical Gender Studies program. Her research examines the cultural and political dimensions of knowledge production and technical practices, particularly focusing on how race, gender, class, and coloniality shape technological narratives in the U.S., Ghana, and Nigeria. She investigates the experiential knowledge of African Diaspora women in STEM and challenges dominant tech narratives through feminist science studies frameworks.

• Affiliations: UC San Diego, Critical Gender Studies program
• Teaching: Courses on technology/culture intersections and feminist science studies

Dr. Okonkwo holds an NSF CAREER Award (2024), the NSF’s most prestigious early-career honor. She previously held postdoctoral fellowships at Claremont Graduate University (AAUW Fellow), the University of Denver’s Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (in)Equality, and an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship. Her work bridges academia and community engagement, emphasizing social justice in technology.