PROJECTS
A compelling appeal to center the perspectives of young people to support them in mapping pathways to future success
In How We See Us, Michaela Leslie-Rule amplifies the voices of young people approaching adulthood as they consider their experiences, needs, and goals for their education, early careers, and lives. Leslie-Rule encourages adults who support young people to listen more closely to youth voices so that their perspectives are centered in interventions made on their behalf.
Leslie-Rule advocates for listening more deeply to young people and provides a framework, as well as tools, prompts, worksheets, and other resources, to improve practice. Such consideration, she argues, enables educators, policymakers, and researchers to better address the barriers students experience in building and navigating pathways to education, career, and adulthood.
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A research and film project that examines the tradition of metered hymn singing in Southern Black churches, exploring how these devotional songs reflect the complexities of Black Christianity while demonstrating the enduring power of collective singing to strengthen communities, transmit long-held knowledge, and build solidarity.
A narrative research project examining how cultural narratives about math influence and impact the ways 6th-10th grade students see themselves as math learners, and think and feel about learning math. The project focuses on the experiences of Black and Hispanic students and students from lower-income households in particular, and seeks to identify the stories, language, and messengers that can effectively help students to see themselves as capable of learning math, and also to understand how knowing math can add value to their lives.
A cohort-based pilot that builds organizational capacity to use narrative change as a tool for advancing career pathways programs and systems, while contributing knowledge about effective narrative strategies to the field.
A campaign mobilizing young Memphis voters by providing essential voting information and amplifying the voices of 300+ young Memphians who identified key priorities—youth activities, career training, quality jobs, and consumer protection—to guide mayoral candidate selection.
A multi-year research project exploring Black, Hispanic, and white young people’s goals and aspirations and the opportunities and challenges they anticipate encountering as they build and navigate their education and career pathways. The research conducted with nearly 4000 young people across the United States offers important insight into how parents, educators, policymakers and others can design systems that meet young people where they are and support them to reach the goals they set for themselves. This research is the source material for Leslie-Rule’s 2025 book, How We See Us.
A five-episode documentary series profiling grassroots activists and community organizers worldwide who are fighting for gender justice, from ending child marriage in Pakistan to pursuing LGBTQI liberation in Georgia, showcasing frontline leaders who are mobilizing to create transformative change for their communities and beyond.
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A participatory action research and film project documenting women’s experiences of gender-based violence, and how gender norms are transmitted through storytelling in Tanzania. For the project, undertaken in collaboration with EngenderHealth’s CHAMPION project, Michaela was awarded the Young Investigator’s Award at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. The film was an official selection of the Zanzibar International Film Festival and was screened throughout the country as part of Tanzania’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.