Dr. Steele is a native Chicagoan who received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. While there she developed research expertise in the areas of multiculturalism and media, race and mass media, online communication and digital culture. Dr. Steele's research examines the representation of marginalized communities in the media and how traditionally marginalized populations resist oppression and utilize online technology to create spaces of community. Some of her recent work engages with blogs as sites which replicate features of black oral culture in order to engage in political discourse in seemingly apolitical spaces.

She utilizes critical theory and qualitative methods to engage with deep readings of texts. Dr. Steele's research explores the connections between traditional news, online writing, and entertainment media to better elucidate how ideologies are formed, maintained and changed in a given culture over time. Dr. Steele's recent work also focuses on ethical uses of social media in the classroom and the use of social media for students of color to connect with mentoring relationships in higher education. Her latest project focuses on digital black feminism and how the affordances of new media technology are shaping black feminist discourse online.