Dr Gabriel holds a BA Honours degree in Journalism Studies from London Metropolitan University and a PhD in Media, Culture and Communication from the University of Salford. From the outset of her journey through higher education, Dr Gabriel’s mission was to promote transformation and social change, seeing media as a powerful tool for advancing new ways of thinking and empowering people. As a final year undergraduate student she developed the journalism project ‘People With Voices’ to increase participation in the news industry among the most under-represented groups.
Her past journalistic work focused on giving voice to the perspectives and experiences of marginalised communities and articulating issues around inequality. She wrote for several publications including Times Higher Education, Guardian and Independent and was frequently called upon as a media commentator to provide analysis of historic and contemporary issues and events. She has been interviewed across television, radio, print and online in the UK and US for a range of media outlets including BBC, Guardian, Independent and Times Higher Education.
During her academic career, Dr Gabriel combined a traditional role in teaching, research, and professional practice with leadership in educational equity. Specializing in inclusive teaching strategies, she developed a framework called 3D Pedagogy, to decolonise, democratise and diversify the curriculum, creating a workshop for teachers and lecturers. In 2013, she established the Black British Academics global community as a collective platform to advance equity and social justice in higher education. As a research leader, she developed the ‘Ivory Tower Project’ on raced and gendered experiences in academia, leading two research teams on the edited volumes: ‘Inside the Ivory Tower’ and ‘Transforming the Ivory Tower’, launched in the UK and US at eight higher education institutions.
In recent years, Dr Gabriel has transitioned from the constraints of full-time academia to focus on lifelong interests in genealogy and social philanthropy. She served as a Visiting Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford University (2024-25) and now semi-retired, serves as a Visiting Researcher at London Metropolitan University. Dr Gabriel drew on her experience in research and social philanthropy to establish Jenny Harriott Foundation in honour of a four times great grandmother, undertaking historical research to tell the story of her enslaved Jamaican ancestors. The Foundation provides annual scholarship awards for final year primary pupils, encouraging and rewarding hard work and academic achievement.