Sherika, a first-generation student of Caribbean ancestry from Harlem, NY, earned her bachelor’s in psychology at Howard University, where she developed a passion for understanding human behavior within biological, psychological, and socio-environmental contexts. After working with organizations serving marginalized groups, she pursued her MSW at Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work, where she specialized in child trauma through a nationally recognized program funded by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Now a PhD student in social psychology at the University at Buffalo, Sherika is committed to advancing social and economic equity in Buffalo. Through her work with Black Love Resists in the Rust, she contributed to the successful No New Jail Campaign and co-led a community-based study on Black residents’ perceptions of safety, later presented at UB’s Community Health Equity Research Institute.
Her long-term goal is to bridge social work and psychology through social entrepreneurship and research that empowers marginalized communities. As a WNY Prosperity Fellow, Sherika aims to establish a community-based think tank that leverages local knowledge to foster economic growth and inform social change.