Biography

Jonzelle (she/her) is a first-generation Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Central Florida, specializing in medical sociology, reproductive health, Black feminist theory, and geographic information systems (GIS). Her research examines racial inequities in maternal healthcare, with a particular focus on Black women’s cesarean birth experiences in the United States. Drawing on Black feminist methodologies, critical discourse analysis, and qualitative research methods, her work explores how medical institutions, public health discourses, and systems of power shape reproductive healthcare experiences and outcomes. In addition to her qualitative research, she incorporates GIS and spatial analysis to examine reproductive healthcare access and structural inequities across geographic contexts.

As a proud alumna of the University of Central Florida, Jonzelle earned both her M.A. in Applied Sociology and B.S. in Social Sciences, with minors in Diversity & Inequalities, Cultural Anthropology, and Women’s and Gender Studies. Following completion of her Ph.D., she hopes to pursue a research and teaching career focused on advancing reproductive justice, health equity, and critical scholarship on race, gender, and medicine.