Breaking Down Educational Barriers and Rewriting Stereotypical Narratives Everyday
Dedicated K-12 Educator
The past seven years, Briana has taught as a long-term substitute teacher for LAUSD. With her compassionate, and highly-motivated personality she finds ways to connect with her students and provide effective whole group, small group, and individualized learning plans catered to student needs. Briana believes that all students are capable of learning and excelling in the classroom if educators build healthy relationships with them, encourage their students to reach their goals, and teach to unique student learning styles.
Higher Education Mentor
Realizing her passion for higher education during her undergraduate career at UCLA, Briana has served as a college application support resource for numerous high school juniors and seniors throughout the United States privately, and through the USC Bovard Scholars program. Additionally, she worked as an Academic Mentor for UCLA freshman and junior student-athletes to help them develop into self-sufficient learners.
Educational Leadership Collaborator
Throughout her career in education, Briana has taught at various elementary schools in South LA, Watts, and Gardena, California. She has also interned at Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA, and worked at USC. Her first-hand experience in the K-12 system and the higher education system has given her the opportunity to do research on bridging the educational gap and strengthening the educational pathway from K-12 to postsecondary education.
Public Speaker
With a love for storytelling, Briana has presented at numerous education conferences, spoken at career days around LAUSD, scholarship luncheons as a returning scholarship recipient, and on student panels at USC Rossier and UCLA. She is passionate about sharing her experiences as a student in K-12 and higher education as well as motivating the youth and incoming students to follow their dreams, no matter how big they seem to others.
"THE HIGHEST HUMAN ACT IS TO INSPIRE."
-ERMIAS ASGHEDOM
Publications
Journal Articles
Porter, T., Savage, B. A., & Frazier, D. J. (2025). Breaking Boundaries: A Critical Trans Framework Analysis of Anti-Transgender Sports Policies in Education. Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.60808/php6-wh20
Ofoegbu, E.D., & Savage, B.A. (2024). From the sidelines to the frontlines: Black student-athlete organizations as counterspaces at predominantly white institutions. Journal of College Student Development 65(5), 490-506. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2024.a940717
Comeaux, E., & Savage, B. A. (2023). Beyond the scoreboard: Career preparation and transitions of black college athletes. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000502
Book Chapters
Comeaux, E., Frazier, D. J., & Savage, B. A. (2022). The fire this time: Prioritizing critical research on racism and antiblackness in athletics. In J. N. Cooper (Ed.). Anti-racism in sport organizations (pp. 62-78). Center for Sport Management Research and Education. https://www.csmre.org/csmre-publications