Felecia Russell is the founder and creator of Embracing Undocumented, a platform to serve undocumented people. Felecia Russell is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.

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, as the first in her family to attend college. She then went on to earn her master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University. After two years at Pepperdine, Felecia moved to Wilmington, DE, to serve as an AmeriCorps member, teaching English to 6th graders. Felecia continued serving youth in Wilmington and Philadelphia for six years as the Director of College and Career Counseling .

Felecia’s mission is to create access to higher education for under-served, marginalized, and undocumented students. Additionally, she hopes to bring visibility on Black undocumented people.

In May of 2022, Felecia graduated from Temple University with her doctorate in higher education, making her apart of the 1% of people with a terminal degree. Her dissertation: The Invisibility of UndocuBlack Students Within the Undocumented Community in Higher Education can be found at: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2668183642/. She is continuing her work to increase access as the Associate Director of Undergraduate Admission and adjunct professor at California Lutheran University. She is available for keynote speaking, workshops and guest faculty opportunities. 

Features and Associations

Felecia wrote a story for the National Immigration Law Center in 2018 to document her journey as a DREAMer, check it out here.

Felecia was also featured in Pepperdine University’s Magazine. 

Education

May 2022
Ed.D Temple University, Higher Education
April 2015
Master of Public Policy Pepperdine University
April 2013
BA, California Lutheran University
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