Opal is an artist, researcher, and organizer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Their work seeks to advance community wellness, through data, advocacy, and public policy.

They are a writer and interdisciplinary scholar with experience in multiple fields, including social psychology, public health, social work, and human rights. They have published their work across several revered academic journals, including Deviant Behavior, City and Community, The Journal of Bisexuality, The Journal of Urban Affairs, Psychology and Sexuality, and Social Sciences.

They are a Sadler Scholar at The Hasting Center, a Health Policy Research Scholar with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a 2024 Peoples Response Fellow with The Movement for Black Lives. They have collected years of experience as a policy researcher, working with organizations such as The Southern Center for Human Rights, Black Futurists Group, The Legal Action Center, and Partnership for Southern Equity.

Opal earned their PhD in Sociology at Georgia State University in 2025. Their dissertation research, which explores the health impacts of stigma on Black gender-nonconforming adults, is under contract to be published at Roman & Littlefield in Fall 2026.