Verlena Johnson is a student affairs officer in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA. But she’s also a multi-media visual artist with a published children’s book and a series of paintings that pay homage to LGBTQ African American icons.

She talks to the UCLA Arts podcast "Works In Progress" about the themes of race, gender, sexuality, and divinity in her paintings; how she maintains her creative practice during the pandemic; and how to promote diversity in academia.