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 promote equity, diversity and inclusion 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’, published by UCL Press and launched in the UK and US at eight higher education institutions.
In recent years, Dr Gabriel has transitioned from the constraints of a full-time academic role to pursue lifelong interests in emancipatory research and social philanthropy. This includes establishing a charitable foundation in honour of a four times great grandmother that supports primary education in Jamaica, and developing a collaborative project on Jamaican history for independent scholars and creatives through Black British Academics. She currently serves as a Visiting Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford University (2024-25) and Visiting Researcher at London Metropolitan University (2023-26).