In Memoriam
Torie “Jolea” Powell
February 16, 2004 to October 2, 2025
Jolea Powell was a research assistant in the COLOR lab for nearly nine months. News of our untimely passing has saddened us deeply. The hardest part about this loss is knowing that Jolea will not be able to live out her dreams and that the world will miss out on having such a compassionate, thoughtful, and incredible psychologist-to-be.
When she applied to the COLOR lab, her application immediately stood out, and we sent a request to interview her soon after. About her goals, she said,
“In the future, I hope to become a children's clinical psychologist, but I want to help the children in my community first. These are all children of minority backgrounds, and who need more help and more help understanding themselves by being a part of your lab I would be able to gain research experience and hopefully apply what I learn to both myself my peers and my students.” In the COLOR lab, Jolea demonstrated endless compassion, intellectual curiosity, and a deep, genuine dedication to serving underrepresented communities. She pursued a summer research project with the guidance of her mentor, Lauren Hall, and contributed to several projects in the lab, including both the RED and EBONY studies. The COLOR lab is fortunate to have had the opportunity to know and work with Jolea. We will miss her, and we hope to honor her by always reminding ourselves of the importance of compassion and connection in all of our endeavors.
