Presenters

Hussain Al-Ismail
University of Birmingham
Hussain Al-Ismail is a freelance writer with a BS in Geology from TAMU, and an MA in Liberal Arts from JHU. He is currently pursuing an MA in Global History from the University of Birmingham.

Dr. Joy Hunter Austin

University of Memphis

Joy Hunter Austin has been with the University of Memphis since 2011 and teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses for the College of Professional and Liberal studies, an interdisciplinary department, on the Lambuth Campus in Jackson, Tennessee. Prior to working for the University of Memphis, Joy taught English at Lambuth University for many years, serving also as Head of the School of Humanities and Co-Chair of the Department of English. She has presented papers at regional and national conferences on Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, and literary trendsetters Gerard Manley Hopkins and T. S. Eliot.

Catherine Behan
Indiana University South Bend
Catherine Behan left a successful career in communications to study interdisciplinary research focused on improving the dismal education outcomes of children who had faced maltreatment. She is a student in the Master of Liberal Studies program at Indiana University South Bend. Her research topics include community vibrancy, the qualifications and character of presidential candidates as well as the impacts of child maltreatment. She has received grants in support of her research and awards for writing.

Israel B. Bitton
Johns Hopkins University
Israel B. Bitton is a Brooklyn-native, veteran marketing & communications professional who currently serves as Executive Director of Americans Against Antisemitism, a nonprofit that counters social hatred through data, media, and education. He holds a Bachelor of Science in History of Philosophy from SUNY and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Humanities at Johns Hopkins University. He is also the author of two forthcoming books: "Who Will Remember You? A Philosophical History and Theory of Memory and Will" (summer 2021), a study and philosophy of mind, and "A Brief and Visual History of Antisemitism" (fall 2021), an educational curriculum for high schools.

Karen J. Borek
University of Pennsylvania
Karen Borek recently received a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Pennsylvania on 5/18/2020 and graduated with honors, and also received a Master of Liberal Arts on 5/19/2014. While working as a substitute teacher in 1993, she obtained a Bachelor of Literature from Stockton University in Pomona, New Jersey. She also received a Bachelor of Science from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1971. These degrees show her love of learning.

Michael Breger

Stanford University

Michael Breger is a Master of Liberal Arts candidate at Stanford and a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he studied history and astronomy. He works at Stanford's Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and his thesis research focuses on the poetics of Allen Ginsberg.

Susie Callahan
Reed College
Susie Callahan is a student in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at Reed College. She holds a Master of Arts in Education from Washington University in St. Louis. Her professional focus has been on education and literacy.

Cally Chisholm
East Tennessee State University
Cally Chisholm is a graduate student at East Tennessee State University studying gender and diversity within the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies interdisciplinary program. She also works as the graduate assistant for ETSU's Diversity Educators, a program that creates opportunities for peer to peer dialogue on matters of social justice and inclusion. Chisholm received her undergraduate B.S. degree in Mass Communications and Minor in Speech Communications from Missouri Southern State University.

Stephanie Chretien
Rice University
Stephanie Cotton Chretien is a native Houstonian born and raised in the shadows of several prestigious universities. However, she chose Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia for her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. The love of statistics and data analysis lead to the field of mainframe performance and capacity planning. Returning to Houston she continued her education, graduating May 2021 from Rice University, with a Master of Liberal Studies.

Karen Coston
Johns Hopkins University
Ms. Coston has spent over 25 years in the business community and has worked for a variety of companies including start-ups, established names and rising brands. She is a seeker of knowledge and is enrolled in Johns Hopkins Masters of Liberal Arts online program. During her time-off she enjoys spending time with her family, amateur photography and traveling the globe.

Lucia Ramirez Davis

Arizona State University
Lucia Ramirez Davis is an artist, historian, poet, and scholar. Driven by the injustices of the world, she challenges assumptions and provokes thought. Guided by synoptic methods and inspired by those who came before her, she transforms research into poetry, and (empathic) pain into art.

Ramisha Ejaz
Northwestern University
Ramisha Ejaz is a recent alumna of Northwestern University's Liberal Studies program where she specialized in American Studies. Her work focuses on the intersection of the South Asian American immigration patterns and the ways in which these patterns intersect with race, class, and gender.

Codi Leigh Farris
Johns Hopkins University
Codi Farris lives in Los Angeles, CA with her partner and two cats. She recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University's Master of Liberal Arts program, completing her capstone thesis on the need for the curricular diversification of undergraduate literature programs. Passionate about the humanities and social justice, Codi seeks to enact social change through equity-focused education. She currently works in the tech sector and enjoys reading everything, writing papers, and using a paper planner.

Emily Felty
Louisiana State University in Shreveport
Emily is a social studies teacher and student at LSUS in her hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. She attended Wheaton College in Illinois for her undergrad and feels privileged to be seeking a masters degree in the liberal arts. Emily desires to develop a robust understanding of United States history, Louisiana history, and geography in order to better develop and inspire her students.

Anna Gallagher
University of Delaware
Anna has lived, worked, and retired in Wilmington, DE. Along the way she earned a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Delaware. She is an enthusiastic gardener; and once retired, she turned her backyard into a native habitat complete with pond and waterfall.

Christine Gardiner
Johns Hopkins University
Christine Gardiner is a master's in liberal arts student at Johns Hopkins University. Her BA is in geology, but her academic tastes have changed quite a bit since her long-ago undergraduate years. Her new interests include history, sociology, and women's studies, so interdisciplinary studies are an excellent match for her academic goals. She lives in Vancouver, Washington, with her husband, two teens, mom, and four dogs.

Gregory George Guthrie
Georgetown University
Greg Guthrie has held positions at the US Department of Commerce, Library of Congress and the World Bank, taught the course 'Environmental Issues in the Mediterranean" at Georgetown University where he wrote his Master's thesis: "Labor Unions: Champions of Social Justice". Currently, he is with the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the US Department of Commerce, where he is President of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) local 1627. A native Oklahoman, he is a graduate of Oklahoma State University.

Austin C. Haigler
North Carolina State University
Austin is a 2017 graduate of the NC State MALS Program and a 2012 graduate of NC State's SPIA. His background is in philosophy and political science/social theory. Most broadly, he wants to understand the role that drugs play at multiple intersections of human culture and society. There are numerous avenues in and out of this topic making it a fundamentally interdisciplinary endeavor. He sometimes wonders what Kant would think about psychedelics.

J.T. Hill
University of Texas at Dallas
Native of Mesquite, Tx, Justin T. Hill is a student in pursuit of his Ph.D. in Literature at the University of Texas of Dallas (UTD). As a student, Justin is committed to the field of literary studies within the context of decoloniality. Specifically, through the conflation of [Paulo] Freirean thought and Black radical literature - Justin is invested in underscoring the close relationship between the long Black freedom struggle, Black radical literature and critical literacy. Justin has continuously exercised his interest through presenting at scholarly conferences. Three presentations were entitled as such: Fred Hampton in 2020: A Theoretical Examination of Critical Literacy and the Beloved Community, Frantz Fanon and the Idea of Liberating Violence: An African-American Perspective, and The Criminalization of Poverty: An African-American Experience. As a scholar in the proverbial "rough," Justin is devoted to both community service and contributing something profound to the field of literature and critical literacy studies.

Cherie Hoepfl
Rice University
Cherie resides in Houston and attends Rice University, completing her capstone project through creative non-fiction essays depicting obsessive-compulsive disorder through a mother's eyes. Cherie earned a Master Social Work Degree (2019) and a Master Business Administration (1996) from the University of Houston. Her passion centers on working with adolescents that struggle with depression, anxiety, or OCD.

Alanna Howard
North Carolina State University
Alanna Howard has a decade of experience in the digital marketing space. She is a first-year graduate student in the Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies program at NC State University. Her research focuses on sustainable tourism, both what it means to travel sustainably as a tourist and how destinations can better manage and prepare sustainably for tourists.

Charles C. Isaacs
Indiana University Southeast
Charles C. Isaacs graduated with honors from Indiana University Southeast in 2021 with a B.S. in History. Mr. Isaacs is currently pursuing a Master of Interdisciplinary Studies degree at Indiana University Southeast. He is currently conducting research into the origins and activities of the group known as the White Caps in the United States, with the goal of understanding its evolution and influences upon American society during the period in which they operated.

Lisa M. Jackson
Johns Hopkins University
Lisa M. Jackson is a 2020 graduate of the Master of Liberal Arts program at Johns Hopkins University. Lisa attended Syracuse University for undergraduate studies and was a dual major in Political Science and English Textual Studies. She currently works for Booz Allen Hamilton as a government contractor.

Jacquelyn Jordan
University of Pennsylvania
Jacquelyn Jordan is a writer, a lover of 90's hip hop and a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work has been published in several print publications, including Scribes of Nyota: Mystics and Pennsylvania's Best Emerging Poets 2019, and digitally on I Am Black Sci-Fi and short edition. Most recently, Jacquelyn was named a semi-finalist in the Future is Female grant opportunity for her script Divine Love.

Alvine Kapitako
North Carolina State University
Alvine is a journalist with 11 years of experience in print media. She focused a considerable amount of time reporting on poor communities affected by infectious and non-communicable diseases often telling their stories of poverty and desolation. She also worked closely with United Nations agencies in Namibia, namely United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organization (WHO), other international organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the Society for Family Health, and the U.S Centers for Disease Control (CDC) office in Namibia. She has a B. A. degree in Media Studies and French, a Master's in Media Studies both obtained from the University of Namibia.

Marja Karelia
Simon Fraser University
Marja Karelia has a BA (2005) in Anthropology and Spanish from The University of British Columbia (UBC) specializing in Mesoamerican Music Archaeology followed by Archaeology and Art and Culture Studies at Simon Fraser University (SFU). Marja earned her MA in Liberal Studies from SFU in 2020. Her main research interest is the interaction of music and culture from interdisciplinary perspectives, including history, philosophy, and ethnomusicology. She is in the process of applying for a PhD program at UBC in Migration Studies.

David Griffin Knight
University of Oklahoma
Retired as a Systems Trainer from the Hertz Corporation, David is currently working towards FAA certification as an Advanced Ground School Instructor. He is an avid reader of a wide variety of non-fiction, esp. twentieth century military history, as well as being an enthusiastic Sooner football and basketball fan.

Favorite quote: "If you think you can or cannot do something, you're probably right." Henry Ford

Lue Kraltchev
Southern Methodist University
Lue Kraltchev is an entrepreneur, restaurateur, storyteller, and student of culture. She has traveled to over 55 countries, lived in 6, and speaks 8 languages. She is a 20+ year veteran of the hospitality industry, most recently serving as Director of People & Culture overseeing leadership development and team experience for a global chain. In 2020, she relaunched her consulting company and in 2021, she co-founded a global festival and community interest company in London.

Kristina Kwacz
SUNY Empire State College
Kristina Kwacz completed her MALS degree at SUNY Empire State College in 2017. As an independent researcher, she has continued to present her work to academic and general audiences locally, nationally, and internationally. Her areas of interest include memory work with family photos, Polish and Eastern European Studies, the history of Poland during WWII, and the Polish diaspora in the United States.

M. H. Lewis

North Carolina State University

Michele Lewis (formerly Michele Baldwin) is a recent graduate from the MALS program at North Carolina State University. Her concentration of Ecological Evolutionary Developmental Biological Studies of Human Cognition has focused Michele's studies on understanding the full picture of how humans came to learn and how humans best learn based on biological & evolutionary mechanisms while also taking into consideration the ways that the environment may impact cognitive development. She currently resides in Raleigh, NC.

Tara L. Lipinski
Arizona State University
Tara L. Lipinski is an aspiring writer and graduate student in the Master of Liberal Studies program at Arizona State University. Her research interests include environmental humanities, feminist studies, and ecofeminism. In her spare time she loves reading, cooking, gardening, attempting to knit, and most importantly, spending time with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.

Carlos Littles
Johns Hopkins University
Carlos is a Master's Student in the Liberal Arts Program at Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, he is a member of the American Philosophical Association and the Nineteenth Century Studies Association.

Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D.
Nova Southeastern University
Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D, is the Director of the Doctoral Program, Director of Community Resolution Services, faculty facilitator of the Social Justice Roundtable, and Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and Community Studies at Nova Southeastern University. She has been involved in conflict resolution for over 30 years, including as a facilitator, trainer and researcher. Her areas of research and teaching interests include: strategic community planning, storytelling and facilitative dialogues, conflict coaching, and graduate experiential learning.

Emmeline Miles
Southern Methodist University
Emmeline Miles is a musician, teacher, and professor from Dallas, TX. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Music from Scripps College, a Master of Liberal Arts from Texas Christian University, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Creative Writing from Southern Methodist University. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Liberal Studies at Southern Methodist University. She is grateful for endless encouragement and inspiration from her friends, mentors, and dog, Chloe.

Michileen Marie Oberst

Stanford University
Michileen is a student at Stanford's MLA program. A Palo Alto local, she picked up her passion for writing at Santa Clara University, where she received a Bachelors in Psychology and Theatre Arts. After traveling the world for some months, she began her career at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, which during her time received a Tony for Best Regional Theatre. She now works as an administrator, while continuing to write and direct within the Bay Area.

Carson Poole
San Diego State University
Carson Poole is a current first-year MA student at San Diego State University. She received a BA in Art History from San Jose State University in 2018. Her areas of interest are in the intersection of the arts, humanities, and the sciences, specifically visual arts and how the discipline is affected by scientific advancement, as well as contemporary historical practice.

Lela E. Robichaux
Louisiana State University - Shreveport
Lela Robichaux is currently working in the MLA Program at LSU-Shreveport and has served as a graduate assistant. As well as being active in her local community to help run a summer camp for people with autism, she is a published author, working on building her own unique world where she creates fantasy stories and role-playing games. Lela has been married for 25 years and has one son. She works full-time as a Case Administrator for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and her ultimate goal in life is to write intriguing stories that make people happy.

Christina Marie Rodley
Arizona State University
Christina Rodley is an MLSt student at Arizona State University. She earned a B.S. in Individualized Studies with concentrations in Hospitality, Mythology in Literature, and Liberal Arts from Eastern Michigan University. As the Program Coordinator for the Arizona Simulation Technology & Education Center at the University of Arizona she is involved in interprofessional health sciences and K-12 outreach initiatives. Her research interests include mythology/folklore in popular culture, scientific writing accessibility, and interdisciplinary cooperation across academia.

Kaitlyn San Miguel
Johns Hopkins University
Kaitlyn San Miguel is a Master of Liberal Arts candidate at Johns Hopkins University and a graduate of Rutgers University, where she studied English, journalism and media studies, and critical and comparative race and ethnic studies. She works as an associate production editor at Simon & Schuster Children's Books. Her poetry and short stories appear in Cosmonauts Avenue, Black Fox Literary Magazine, and petrichor.

Marla Shaivitz
Johns Hopkins University
Marla Shaivitz is the director of digital strategy for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs and is a graduate student in the Johns Hopkins Master of Liberal Arts program. She has over 20 years experience in developing comprehensive digital strategies and is skilled in web site development, data visualization and analytics with an eye on new technologies and technology trends.

Dana Singletary
Louisiana State University - Shreveport
Dana Singletary is a current graduate student at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. She gained her undergraduate degree in English with a focus on Literary Studies in May of 2020.

Cheryl R. Solis
Stanford University
Cheryl Solis is a graduate of Stanford's MLA program, where she focused on cross-disciplinary studies in paleography and the modernist works of James Joyce. A San Antonio native, she graduated from Trinity University with a major in English Literature and a minor in Computer Science. She has been a technical writer, manager, and consultant in Silicon Valley for a number of years. Her interests include the material culture of the book and modernist fiction.

April Zhang
Indiana University South Bend
April has been in the Master of Liberal Studies program at Indiana University for three years as a full-time student. She comes from China with a bachelor's degree in Classic Chinese Language and literature and four years of study experience in the Master of Classic Chinese Language and Literature Program at East China Normal University. Her academic interests include Asian Americans studies and educational equity in the US.