Laura L. Allen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at York University in Toronto. Her research explores kinship and literacies: how Black communities create, sustain and archive belonging through rhetorical, literate and digital practices. Her work spans family reunions, fictive kin language, community digital literacies and AI, and cross-border Black histories along the U.S.–Canada border.

She is currently writing a book that explores how Black families decide who counts as kin and sustain those bonds through writing, storytelling, and digital media across generations and distance. Her research bridges rhetoric and literacy studies, professional and technical communication, and media studies, and has been supported by York University research grants. It has been recognized with the Ellen Nold Award for Outstanding Article in Computers and Writing Studies (2024) from Computers and Composition and the ATTW Nell Ann Pickett Award for the best 2022 article in Technical Communication Quarterly. She has presented at national and international venues, including the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) and the Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing (CASDW).

At York, she teaches courses on social movements, digital cultures, rhetoric, and UX design, and she received the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2024). She has also served as Interim Head of Founders College. Laura holds a PhD in English (Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy) from The Ohio State University, an MA in Digital Rhetoric and Professional Writing from Michigan State University, and a BA in English from Spelman College. Committed to educational and social justice, she continues to be inspired by her students. Outside the university, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, volunteering with local community organizations, listening to podcasts, and traveling to events in Toronto and beyond.