Nasia Turner joined UCLA’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Creative Activities as the HBCU Coordinator in 2024. "Naj" is a first-generation college student from Freeport, Illinois- by way of Marietta, Georgia. She moved to Los Angeles at the start of middle school and has been a proud Cali girl since. Naj is also a Bruin, who completed her B.A. in English with minors in Afrikan American Studies and Education in 2016. She furthered her education in Cambridge, Massachusetts where she obtained her Ed.M. in Human Development and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Naj also earned her School Counseling license at HGSE before moving back to California to support youth in South Central Los Angeles. She formerly worked as the African American Achievement Specialist for Green Dot Public Schools, with a placement at Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy. In this role she managed academic and social programming for Black scholars and supported her students with touring, applying to, and matriculating through HBCUs.
Nasia dedicates her professional efforts towards improving access, retention, and school culture for African American/Black scholars in urban communities. She hopes to build upon this work as ORCA's HBCU Coordinator, where she supports Vice Chancellor Wakimoto with strengthening research exchange opportunities between UCLA and Morgan State University.
