Born and raised in Jamaica, Felecia immigrated at the age of 12 and spent her adolescence in Inglewood, California. She earned her BA in Political Science and Legal Studies from California Lutheran University in 2013. She then went on to earn her master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and her doctorate from Temple University. 

Dr. Felecia Russell, Ed.D. is the Director of the Higher Ed & Immigration Portal at the Presidents’ Alliance and an adjunct professor at California Lutheran University. Her research agenda explores the experiences of Black undocumented students and the intersections of race and immigration status. Her upcoming book, titled “Amplifying the voices of UndocuBlack Students,” is focused on understanding the experiences of undocumented Black students on college campuses. Other projects include The Invisible Experiences of Black Undocumented College Students, Undocumented immigrants’ movement and activism toward educational justice in the United States, and Illegally Exhausted. She teaches and writes about undocumented students, educational leadership, and undocuBlack methodologies. She is the founder of the UndocuBlack Research Collective, a research group focused on releasing stories about undocuBlack people. Additionally, Dr. Russell is the founder of Embracing Undocumented, an online platform for undocumented students.