Lauren Madrid Poluha is an ethnomusicologist, classical pianist, and an Assistant Professor in the Music Department at Sierra College. Her research focuses on the intersections of music, religion, ethnicity, and activism in Belizean Garifuna communities. Recently, she has published articles in the journal Post Script: Essays in Film and the Humanities and the SAGE Encyclopedia of Ethnomusicology, as well as a college-level study guide to accompany the documentary film Yurumein: Homeland. Poluha holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Theory from the University of Michigan and earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA