Hair might seem trivial, but for many of us it carries history, identity, and meaning far beyond keratin. In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers explore the unexpected power their hair holds.

Part 1: Being half Navajo and half white, Carissa Sherman turns to genetics to better understand her identity. As she questions where she belongs, her hair becomes a quiet but powerful marker of how she sees herself.

Part 2: Growing up, Ria Spencer believed “good hair” meant long hair but when a medical condition forces her to shave it all off, she’s challenged to rethink what that belief really means.

Carissa Sherman is Diné (Navajo) and from Arizona. She’s a rising 5th year PhD Candidate in the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Carissa is a member of Dr. Katrina Claw’s Lab. Her current work has involved community-based participatory research gathering perspectives of genetics research as well as examining population-level pharmacogenetic variation. Her research interests include examining ethical, legal, social and cultural implications of genetic research and learning potential ways to advance inclusivity and equity in public health medicine. She is interested in science policy and/or academia. Carissa and her husband like to craft, draw, go to renaissance fairs, and have two cats; she loves horror movies!

Ria Spencer is an aspiring world traveler and wannabe foodie who’s spent years belting classic rock and sweet soul music for marginally sober audiences with her band Girls on Top. She’s also delighted to be a grown-ass woman who’s lived long enough to have some stories to tell. Ria produced and hosted Where Are They Now: The GenX Years in the New York Frigid Festival and has also appeared in the No Name Comedy/Variety Show, RISK!, Better Said Than Done, Dead Rock Stars and The Volume Knob.

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Tresses: Stories about the power of hair