Abby Rehard recently earned her PhD in Musicology from Florida State University. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in percussion performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia and Northern Illinois University respectively. Abby has been playing pan since 2012 and directing FSU’s Mas ‘n’ Steel since 2018. Her research centers on Afro-diasporic drumming and dance traditions and issues of gender, race, and social activism. With the support of the Fulbright Student Program and Presser Foundation, she conducted a yearlong field research project with Baque de Mina, an all-women’s maracatu group based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, exploring how their drumming is in dialogue with Brazil’s recent feminist movements.