Jayleecia Smith
Jayleecia (she/her/hers) is a Black cis-gendered woman, who has lived in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx for the past 25 years (and counting!). While she was temporarily out of state for high school and college, she returned to work in the Bronx in 2016, and joined the BxCRRB shortly after. Though she was involved in basic science research at the time, Jayleecia began to grow more curious about research at the human level, and wanted to learn more about the intricacies, history, and ethics of community-based research. She was particularly interested in the BxCRRB’s role in research review, in challenging the power dynamic in the research relationship, and in the sharing back of research results with research participants and their communities. By joining the BxCRRB, and graduating as a student of CERA 2017, she began to gain more information about how she could contribute to these processes. Through the BxCRRB, Jayleecia has developed a greater understanding of the power that lies in providing folks the space to tell their stories, particularly in regards to their health. She hopes that her membership in the BxCRRB will continue to challenge her understanding of what it means to be accountable to the communities we love, serve and are situated in, and what it looks like to fully engage with marginalized populations in all parts of the research process. Jayleecia is currently pursuing her M.D. at Weill Cornell Medical College, and as she navigates her career in medicine, she hopes to draw upon her experiences with the BxCRRB to address health disparities and to meld community engagement with clinical practice. She is affiliated with Prep for Prep, Bronx Community Health Leaders (BxCHL), and the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). She can be contacted via email at: [email protected]