Kendall Rallins Salmerón

Kendall Rallins Salmerón (she/they) is a Feminist Studies PhD Candidate and Research Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their work intersects Black feminist theory, queer and trans studies, and sports sociology, focusing on marginalized identities within the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

• BA, Literature and Women’s and Gender Studies, Hamilton College (2019)
• MA, Women’s and Gender Studies, DePaul University (2022)

Their research explores how Black queer and trans athletes engage in self-representation, spatial practices, and aesthetic resistance to combat misogynoir, heteronormativity, and gendered constraints. Methodologically, they analyze social media, digital identity, and cultural production as tools for community-building and subversion of systemic oppression.

Kendall is also a consultant for collegiate athletic departments, applying their expertise in racial and gender justice to institutional frameworks. Their current awards include the Racial Justice Fellowship at UC Santa Barbara.