Presenters

Roberto Argentina
Rice University
Roberto Argentina is an IB Geography teacher at Lamar High School, Houston, while also attending the Graduate Liberal Studies program at Rice University. This past year he helped prepare and co-host several educator PD sessions on behalf of Rice's Boniuk Institute under Dr. Gayle Pagnoni. One of those was featured in the Winter 2020-2021 issue of The Social Studies Texan journal. This Spring his historical essay 'Otranto' was published in the journal Open Doors Review."

Josué Arredondo
San Diego State University
Josué Arredondo is a graduate candidate at San Diego State University. He is completing a Masters in Liberal Arts and Sciences (MALAS). He holds an MA in American Literature. His work focuses on the decolonialism, post-Marxism, and formal innovations in writing. He teaches English as an adjunct professor at Southwestern CC and Miramar CC.

Colin Chapell
University of Memphis
Colin Chapell teaches at the University of Memphis in the Doctor of Liberal Studies program. His work looks at the intersection of religion and identity in the American South.

Ying Sophie Chen
Southern Methodist University
Ying (Sophie) Chen is an educator, artist, and researcher. She has published numerous papers and two books associated with the art and design field from an interdisciplinary perspective. She majors in graphic design at Jiang-Su University and has a master's degree in Visual Communication Design from Jiang-Nan University in China. After eleven years of teaching at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and being a two-year visiting scholar at Clemson University, she then began art practice by focusing on found material and the philosophy of everyday life. After obtaining an MFA degree from Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA, she entered the DLS program at Southern Methodist University. During her doctoral training, she has focused on how people integrate relationships among individuals, communities, and environments. Through her conceptual exploration of the physical and online spaces, she seeks the ways art can positively transform people's understanding of daily life.

Jennifer Chutter
Simon Fraser University
Jennifer Chutter is a settler scholar living on the traditional and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is an award-winning PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at Simon Fraser University. Her research explores the intersections between home, housing, domesticity, and urban development through the lens of decolonial performance studies in order to understand how colonialism is a structure, and not an event, embedded in housing policies.

D. H. Covey
Johns Hopkins University
D.H. Covey is a motion picture storyboard artist and designer and substitute high school teacher. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Deby, and son, Adam. His daughter, Michelle, is an art teacher in Sacramento, California. The whole family continues to vacation and camp together when possible. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University in May of 2022. His concentration in the MLA program was philosophy and art history.

Maansi Nigam Dommeti
Stanford University
Maansi Nigam Dommeti is a graduate student at Stanford and a marketer in the tech industry. Aside from marketing and liberal arts, she also formally studied Kathak, a form of Indian classical dance, and considers herself an amateur painter. She enjoys reading, traveling, and eating to her heart's content. Originally from Atlanta, GA, she currently resides in San Francisco with her husband and two cats and does her best to live a creatively inspired life.

Brian Eckert
Johns Hopkins University
Brian Eckert is a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins University's Master's of Liberal Arts Program and is currently working towards a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Poetics at Naropa University. In the future, he hopes to teach and write full time.

Tiffany M. Frye
Duke University
Tiffany Frye is a student in the GLS program at Duke University. The program has opened the door for her to go back into academia after years of experience outside the university. She's been working full-time during the program, but hopes to make academia her primary focus - she will be applying for Phd programs this fall. Her interests are at the intersection of philosophy and literature, with a focus on language philosophy and contemporary autofiction.

Dee Gibbins-Lyon
Rice University
Dedicated learner, world traveler, mother, working professional, and soul-driven artist.

Bill Gordon
Wesleyan University
Bill Gordon received an MPhil in Liberal Arts (2020) and an MALS (2005) from Wesleyan University. He also has an MA in Advanced Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield. He worked as Accounting Director at Pratt & Whitney, an aircraft engine manufacturer based in Connecticut. After his retirement at the end of 2019, he has been living in Sapporo, Japan.

Kim Gudmundson
Stanford University
Kim Gudmundson recently graduated from the Stanford MLA program. Kim initially conducted research on civil rights, healthcare and education at think-tanks, and later worked in human resources, communications and management development at technology companies in the Silicon Valley. Kim feels very fortunate to have participated in Stanford's MLA program.

Austin C. Haigler
North Carolina State University
Austin Haigler received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2012 and his Master of Arts in Liberal Studies in 2017, both from North Carolina State University. He is currently a first year PhD student in the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media Program, still representing NC State. Go Pack!

Braden H. Hammer
Mount Saint Mary's University
Braden Hammer earned a Humanities MA with an English Emphasis from Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles in 2021. He earned a BA in the Study of Religion from Connecticut College in 1996. A sixth generation Southern Californian, he currently works as Associate Director of Institutional Giving at Mount Saint Mary's University.

David Isaak
Reed College
David Isaak holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the Pratt Institute and is a current student in Reed College's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program. He has been a practicing librarian for 15 years focusing on digital collections, scholarly communication, and data services. He currently serves as the Director of Collection Services at Reed College and is a subject librarian for linguistics and psychology.

Katherine Isola
San Diego State University
Katherine Isola is a student in the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences program at San Diego State University. Her background is in anthropology where she focused on historical archaeology and cultural studies as a framework for her undergraduate education. Now, as a graduate student, she finds inspiration in past human experiences and artifacts, along with additional interests in art history, literature, and museum studies. She likes to incorporate the different disciplines in her writing/research.

Aneesh Kanthan
Johns Hopkins University
Aneesh Kanthan holds his undergraduate degree in Mathematical Biology from Rutgers University. Studying the liberal arts has been a passion of his since high school, however, he was pushed to the sciences professionally by rigid Asian parenting. So now, in adulthood, he is having the opportunity to study his passions and hopefully continue to a PhD after this, he thinks it's never too late. By day, he is a software developer, and in his free time when not in class or at work, he serves on his city's Board of Education as Vice President, He is the first person of color in his city to ever hold office, serving on the BoE is unequivocally the most rewarding thing he has ever done.

David Griffin Knight
University of Oklahoma
David Knight is retired from the Hertz Corporation where he was employed as a Systems Trainer. He is currently catching-up on reading with a special interest in mid-twentieth century military history; tending to a backyard garden of decorative pumpkins and ornamental corn; and closely following his Oklahoma Sooners in football and men's / women's basketball..

Lue Kraltchev
Southern Methodist University
Lue Kraltchev is a culture strategist, storyteller, writer, and a lifelong student of culture. Ever eager to communicate, she is a polyglot who has lived in 6 countries and travelled to over 65. She inspires people to come together, engage with our mutual wisdom, and create stronger, connected communities. She is completing her Master of Liberal Studies in Organizational Dynamics and Humanities at SMU - Summer 2022. You can learn more about Lue at www.gluemanity.com

M. H. Lewis
North Carolina State University
Michele Lewis graduated from the MALS program at North Carolina State University in 2020. Her concentration of Ecological Evolutionary Developmental Biological Studies of Learning focused Michele's studies on understanding not only how humans came to learn, but how humans best learn, and what factors may impact the process. A former teacher, Michele now applies her research in her work as a learning designer & author. She resides with her husband and dogs in Raleigh, NC.

Carlos Littles
Johns Hopkins University
Carlos Littles is a researcher whose interests include Native American History, existential philosophy, and popular culture. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy and History from Old Dominion University and M.L.A. from Johns Hopkins University. Carlos is a member of the AGSLP National Honor Society chapter at JHU.

Thor Madsen
Reed College
Thor Madsen is a creative strategist and graduate student at Reed College. He advises and speaks on change and social innovation. He has helped leaders uncover new purpose amid change through improvisation, design thinking, and storytelling. Before Reed and ThinkResults, Thor was at Gartner, Inc. and PwC. He performed at Chicago's Second City, Players Workshop, and improv playhouse; and Portland's Deep End. He instructed at Columbia University and earned his BA from DePaul University.

Patricia Anne Magee
University of Delaware
Patricia Magee's life began in Nagasaki, Japan, where she was born into an Army family. After a childhood spent moving every few years, Patricia settled in Amherst and earned two English degrees at the University of Massachusetts. She taught English at the University of Delaware for 33 years, and after retirement she enrolled in UD's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program, where she is currently enjoying life as a returning graduate student.

Elizabeth Martin
Johns Hopkins University
Elizabeth Martin is a graduate student in the Masters of Liberal Arts program at Johns Hopkins University. She has worked in higher education administration since 2016, and currently serves as the Assistant Director of Academic Programming at the Torrey Honors College at Biola University in Southern California. Her research interests focus on the philosophy of education and the history of higher education in the United States since 1865.

Rev. Renaldo C. McKenzie
Jamaica Theological Seminary
Renaldo Mckenzie is the Author of Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty And Resistance. He is currently at Georgetown University doing a Doctor of Liberal Studies and completed a Master of Liberal Arts in 2011 and then a Master of Philosophy in 2013. Renaldo is a brother of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and is currently a Visiting Adjunct Professor at Jamaica Theological Seminary. Renaldo is working on his next book entitled: "Privilege, Power, Status, And Secrets to Unlocking Divine Intervention." Renaldo is also President of a "Think Tank," Social Media and News Commentary and Publishing Company, The Neoliberal Corporation-Serving the World today to Solve Tomorrow's Challenges.

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.

Vivian Morgan
University of Memphis
Vivian Morgan is a doctoral student in the College of Professional and Liberal Studies at the University of Memphis. She holds a bachelor's degree in African and African American Studies and a master's degree in Liberal Studies. Morgan conducts research in Romani Studies and, in particular, with Ellan Passe, the Panhellenic Confederation of Greek Roma.

Kendra Murphy
University of Memphis
Ms. Kendra Murphy is an instructor coordinator and undergraduate advisor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Memphis. She earned her Bachelor's in Sociology at the University of Central Arkansas in 2003 and her Master's in Sociology at the University of Memphis in 2007. She is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Liberal Studies program at the University of Memphis with research interests in statistics, statistical literacy and health decision-making.

William "Memo" Nericcio
San Diego State University
William "Memo" Nericcio, a Cultural Studies Professor from Laredo, Texas, began his career as a Latin Americanist focused 20th century fiction by Carlos Fuentes, Rosario Castellanos, and Gabriel García Márquez. From his first Assistant Professorship at the University of Connecticut he moved to SDSU in 1991, where his work has expanded into critical studies of mass culture, streaming media, and Latinx fiction. With a BA in English from UT Austin, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Cornell University, Nericcio presently directs the MALAS Cultural Studies MA @SDSU. His latest book, co-authored with Fede Aldama, Talking #browntv: Latinas and Latinos on the Screen, appeared January 2020 from the Ohio State University Press.

Sandra Park
Stanford University
Sandra Park is a fifth-year MLA student at Stanford. Her novella, If You Live in a Small House (2010), takes place in the 1950s Territory of Hawai'i. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in The Iowa Review, New American Writing, St. Petersburg Review, other journals and anthologies. Her stage play, Red Money Bag, was a finalist for the Aurora Theatre Global Age Project. She finds reading as pastime an everyday pleasure.

Carson Poole
San Diego State University
Carson Poole is a current student in San Diego State University's Masters of Liberal Arts and Sciences program, expected to graduate in Spring 2023. Her research is focused on digital media and its relationship to changing technological trends and innovations. As a painter, she is interested in the dynamic nature of the arts and how painting fits into an increasingly nonphysical visual landscape.

Christopher Riendeau
UNC Wilmington
Christopher Riendeau is a graduate of UNC Wilmington's MALS program. His thesis, "De Beauvoir at the Beach," explored the search for authenticity in modern and postmodern tourism, and how existentialism might provide a useful framework for the would-be ethical tourist. His work can also be found in the Blog of the American Philosophical Association, tackling such topics as childless adults at Disney World, and the colonial legacy of tourism during a pandemic.

Patrick Spaulding Ryan
Stanford University
Patrick Spaulding Ryan is a recovering lawyer that lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Patrick is a part-time student at Stanford's Master of Liberal Arts program.

Molly Scheid
San Diego State University
Molly Scheid is a current MALAS (master's in liberals arts and sciences) graduate student. She is from Northern CA (Livermore), but has lived in San Diego for the last six years where she got her bachelors from SDSU in sociology and anthropology. She is currently working on her thesis which is a sci-fi dystopian novella that incorporates Marxist/Nietzschean themes. In San Diego, she enjoys rock climbing, beach volleyball, and spikeball.

Julia Shiller
Georgetown University
Julia Shiller a first-generation American, born and raised in Ukraine. After immigrating to the U.S., Julia started a small consultancy focused on project management, business development, and marketing. In 2015, inspired by its liberal arts curriculum and striving to improve her English language skills, she attended St. John's College and earned a second Master's degree in the Liberal Arts. Fascinated by liberal arts, she currently pursues a doctorate degree in liberal studies at Georgetown University.

Andree Sole
Dartmouth College
Andree Sole is a graduate student at Dartmouth. Having originally graduated and practised as a Speech Language Pathologist in Australia at the University of Queensland, then gone on to an MBA at the University of Melbourne, she worked for many years in the corporate world. She is now fulfilling a lifelong wish to attend a Liberal Studies Program. (She/her pronouns)

Cheryl 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.

Dana Stepleton
Stanford University
Dana Stepleton is a West Point graduate and a first year student in the Stanford MLA program. She enjoys reading great books, writing tolerable fiction, and hugging the occasional redwood tree.

Karyn Chalmers Thomas
North Carolina State University
Karyn Thomas is a career professional with over forty years of experience in commercial and cable broadcasting. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from North Carolina State University (NCSU). By the time the conference convenes, she will have completed the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at NCSU. Her concentration was Communications and Social Change. She and her husband have a non-profit organization that focuses on cultural awareness and character education.

Abdullah Wadood
St. John's College Annapolis

Abdullah writes from Maryland. Currently he's pursuing his master's at St. John's College in Annapolis.
He is interested in the philosophy of science.

Martha Williams
Johns Hopkins University
Martha Williams is a student in the Master of Liberal Arts program at Johns Hopkins University. She studies remotely from her home in Ketchum, Idaho, where she works as the director of programs and education at The Community Library, a non-profit that receives no dedicated tax dollars and can therefore proudly promote banned books. She holds a B.A. in English from Vanderbilt University.

Latetrica Wilson
The University of Memphis
Latetrica (La-Tee-Tris) Wilson is in the Doctor of Professional and Liberal Studies Program with a concentration in Child Development and Sociology, at The University of Memphis. She is a two-time HBCU graduate from Tennessee State University and Alabama A&M University. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Family & Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Child Development and Family Studies. She has a Master of Science degree in Family & Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Social work. She works at a nonprofit that does advocacy work around K-12 education in Tennessee.