Tolani Britton

Tolani Britton serves as Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, where her research employs quasi-experimental methods to investigate policy impacts on educational transitions, access, and retention with emphasis on racial and gender equity.

Her academic foundation includes:

• Master of Arts in Economics (Tufts University)
• Master of Arts in French Cultural Studies (Columbia University)
• Bachelor of Arts in Economics and French Literature (Tufts University)

Britton's research centers on the economics of higher education, specifically examining how carceral policies perpetuate educational disparities for Black and Latinx populations. She analyzes drug sentencing laws' effects on college enrollment, ethnoracial matching in educational settings, and basic needs insecurities among university students through rigorous quantitative frameworks that bridge policy analysis and social justice imperatives.

Her 15 most recent publications reveal dominant themes in carceral-education intersections, ethnoracial dynamics in schooling, and material insecurity impacts on academic achievement, with methodological strengths in quasi-experimental design and longitudinal analysis across K-12 and higher education contexts.

Her distinguished recognition includes:

• National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship (2021)
• Russell Sage Foundation Pipeline Grant (2020)
• National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship (2016)

Prior to academia, Britton worked as NYC public school math teacher and college counselor, plus OECD policy analyst in Paris. Her research has driven national discourse through features in NPR, Inside Higher Ed, and The Atlantic, influencing policy conversations on educational equity and criminal justice reform.