Josie has a passion for advocacy and highlighting Black voices within the classical music community. She focuses on performing works by Black composers and advocating for their place in the classical canon. Josie began studying cello at the age of eleven in her hometown of Kennesaw, Georgia with Sarah Paul. She has previously studied with Wesley Baldwin, Michael Haber, and Charae Krueger. Josie is a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music where she received her Master of Arts in Cello Performance under Felix Schmidt as a 2021 Marshall Scholar. She is also a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville where she earned her BM in Cello Performance with a minor in Africana Studies. In addition to her studies, Josie is an avid freelance cellist that engages in orchestral, session, and musical theatre work. She has performed and toured alongside the Chineke! Orchestra, Firebird Orchestra, and the Brixton Chamber Orchestra. Josie was recently named a 2023 Open Academy Fellow, where she will engage in outreach work with children and people from vulnerable populations beginning in September 2023.