Mariama Lockington is the Research Administrative Coordinator in the Office of Clinical Preparation and Partnerships. She comes to the University of Kentucky with over ten years of youth development and nonprofit leadership experience. Most recently, Mariama served on staff at the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association coordinating youth and government, service learning, and advocacy programs for 6-12th grade students all over Kentucky. In addition to her passion for education, Mariama is a writer and the author of the critically acclaimed middle grade novel For Black Girls Like Me (FSG, 2019). Mariama earned her M.Ed. from Lesley University and her MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. In her free time she enjoys cooking, boxing, teaching youth writing workshops, and reading all the books.