Taylor is currently a doctoral candidate at UCLA. Her research focuses on the collateral consequences of the carceral system on system-impacted Black young adults, particularly how policies influence the re-entry experience of Black young adults from a life-course perspective. This includes studying the socioeconomic environment in which system-impacted Black young adults were raised. She hopes that her work will allow for policy makers and stakeholders to comprehensively understand how the carceral system extends deeply into the lives of Black individuals as well as identify vulnerable areas that can serve as intervention points to help mitigate recidivism rates and the likelihood of incarceration among urban community members. Additionally, she would like to determine how to design and scale up effective policies that address the challenges of reentry by equipping Black young adults with the necessary tools to meet their needs.

Taylor Reed was born in New York but raised in Dallas, Texas which gave her mixed perspective as to both the social and political aspect of how one’s race impacted their life experiences. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Global Public Health and Sociology with a minor in Chemistry from New York University. As a Black first-generation American woman, Taylor learned the many ways in which systems operate against the success of not only women, but specifically Black women. Prior to attending UCLA, she worked on projects that examined violence throughout major cities in the United States and the impact of incarceration and community violence on Black individuals.

Presently, Taylor engages in research with UCLA’s BRITE Center conducting research and preparing manuscripts for publication centered around incarceration and life hardships of Black men, as well as NYU’s Silver School of Social Work where she is analyzing the conceptualization of trauma among racial minority youth exposed to community violence. She concurrently holds the role of co-principal investigator for a research project supported by UCLA’s Initiative to Study Hate. This project involves a comprehensive analysis of the experiences of Black and Latinx  youth organizers within gun violence prevention organizations.