Director
As the founding director of DukeLIFE, Sachelle Ford (she/her) oversees the office’s academic success and community-building programs and works with campus partners on initiatives promoting socio-economic equity. She is passionate about creating resources that help LIFE students fulfill their most outrageous ambitions.
Ford was previously a Lecturing Fellow in the Thompson Writing Program at Duke, where she taught scholarly writing to first-year students and led sophomore interdisciplinary research seminars. Motivated to support students beyond the classroom, Ford transitioned to NC State as Assistant Director and Interim Director of the African American Cultural Center.
Ford earned her Ph.D. in English, with a concentration in African American and African Diasporic Literature, from Brown University. A first-generation and lower-income college graduate, she holds a B.A. in English from Emory University.
Originally from Jamaica and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Ford now lives in Durham with her family.