Nkiru Nnawulezi

Nkiru Nnawulezi (she/her) is deeply committed to improving social and material conditions for survivors of gender-based violence who experience structural marginalization and stigmatization, specifically survivors of color, survivors living with HIV, queer and trans* survivors, low-income survivors, survivors who are unhoused, survivors with addictions, and survivors with severe mental health conditions.

Her research is grounded in intersectionality, systems, and empowerment theories and actualized through transformative participatory research methods. Transformative research methods are a set of practices that engage community members in the full research process with the aim to create change that transforms community conditions.

Using these methods, she develops, tests, and evaluates multi-level interventions to improve the effectiveness of various housing programs across the domestic violence housing continuum: crisis shelters, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing. She is primarily interested in how formal housing interventions can be designed to honor survivors' complexity, increase their power, and sustain their healing.