Bio

I'm a designer, researcher, and educator at Washington University in St. Louis. Through my research, I apply an interdisciplinary and community-engaged approach to co-create and implement design solutions that make complex public health-related information accessible to wider audiences, locally and internationally. I'm also passionate about broadening the scope and access of design education to young people in Uganda through DesignEd workshops and My African Aesthetic podcast which I co-host with Eunice Nanzala. I'm a co-editor of The Black Experience in Design, published by Allworth Press in 2022. Penina earned an MFA in Visual Communication Design from Kent State University and a BA in Art (pre-architecture concentration) from Goshen College.