Javan grew up in Virginia and attended Old Dominion University where he studied biology. As an undergraduate聽he had a variety of research experiences, from investigating populations of mosquito-eating fish to building houses for bees. These experiences, and good mentorship, inspired him to pursue research further. After college he briefly taught biology at an inner city high school, and then worked as a microbiologist for Sabra Hummus company. He chose to come to CU Boulder because of the quality of the program, the advice of his undergraduate mentor, and聽because when he interviewed with Becca Safran, who is now his advisor, she was warm and welcoming. When he arrived here, however, he had a difficult time adjusting to the lack of other people of color in Boulder. So, he talked with counselors at Wardenburg student health center, joined student groups, and helped with campus-wide diversity initiatives to find community and help other students of color who may have been struggling with the same things. He also reached out to other grad students in EBIO, and helped recruit more students of color to build a more diverse department. Since then he has felt much more comfortable. When not improving the social climate in academia, Javan studies the evolutionary forces that contribute to plumage color in different species of barn swallows.