Yahellah Best

Associate Director, Success Coaching Program in Academic Advising (KSAS)

Yahellah Best brings her belief that access and equity in higher education are matters of social justice to her role as an Associate Director of SCAA in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Yahellah studied anthropology and ethnic studies at Brown University, then went on to work in academic advising at University of Maryland University College before earning a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration as a merit scholar at Boston University. While studying at BU, Yahellah held a program coordinator position at Tufts University, where she developed programming for second-year and first-generation students in the Africana Center. As a BU Academic Advisor for a two-year liberal arts program, she taught and co-developed a first-year experience course titled “Identity, Inclusion, and Social Action” and formed a social justice student group.

Yahellah comes to Hopkins after serving at Prince George’s Community College as a Program Advisor for TRiO Student Support Services, a grant-funded program that serves students who are first-generation, limited-income, and/or who live with disabilities. In 2020, she earned her MBA through an innovative online program at the Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Outside of work, Yahellah loves to dance (and has been involved with two professional Cuban dance teams), cook (and eat), and travel. Her interests also include health and nutrition, advocacy, mental health, and experiencing new cultures.