Community Fellow
Leslie Coney

Leslie's Story

Leslie Coney is a Ph.D. candidate in Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington, where she designs community-engaged, culturally relevant interventions to support Black birthing people. Her research bridges Black feminist thought, service design, and health justice, centering community knowledge as both method and outcome. She is the creator of Cradles & Culture™, a community baby shower initiative that affirms Black motherhood through care, culture, and connection.

She has served as a research lead on local and national studies addressing racial bias in digital health systems and understanding what it means to design for the Black experience. Leslie has also supported inclusive design and qualitative research education as a teaching assistant across multiple graduate and undergraduate courses. Her honors include Forbes 30 Under 30: Seattle, Reproductive Health Impact (Formerly NBEC) Scholar, and funding from the Google Health Equity Research Initiative, Black Opportunity Fund, and UW Population Health Initiative.

Her work has been featured in Forbes, Google’s Keyword Blog, and multiple academic venues including DIS, AMIA, and XRDS: Crossroads in the ACM. She is a proud alumna of Howard University and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Leslie's Research

The M/others Who Raised Us

As an MHHJ Networks Fellow, Leslie is leading The M/others Who Raised Us, a participatory research project that explores Black m/othering and maternal care networks through storytelling, reflection, and visual design. At the heart of the project is the “M/other Tree,” a tool that invites Black women, non-binary and birthing people in Washington, D.C. to map and honor the intergenerational caregivers who have shaped their experiences. Through focus groups and co-designed artifacts, the project uncovers patterns of resistance, survival, and community-based care that challenge dominant narratives around maternal health. The fellowship will culminate in a digital archive, peer-reviewed scholarship, and community programming that uplift Black maternal knowledge as a site of justice and healing.