Presenters

Ammara Aleem
Wesleyan University
Ammara Aleem is pursuing a masters in liberal arts studies MALS, with a concentration in Social Sciences. She loves sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with diverse classroom environments and balancing her commitments with Cromwell Public Schools as a Substitute Teacher. She is enjoying creating meaningful family memories and navigating life's everyday adventures with her husband and three kids, seamlessly she blends continuously to seek new ways to connect academic learning and teaching with her deep devotion to family life.

Cliff Allen
Arizona State University
Cliff Allen is a professor of supply chain management at Portland State University. Before becoming a professor, he worked as a supply chain specialist in the private sector.  Cliff holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) and a Master of Arts (MA) in Economics, as well as a PhD in Leadership and International Business. He is currently studying Liberal Arts as a way to gain a better understanding of society. Cliff resides in Whidbey Island, Washington.

Heidi Boerstler
University of Pennsylvania
Heidi Boerstler, Dr. PH, JD,  is an MPhil student at the University of Pennsylvania. An emeritus professor at the University of Colorado, she came to Penn after many years in academia, seeking to explore new ways of knowing and creative research directions. She has loved the  experience. 

Madison Brown
Rollins College
Madison Brown is a graduate student currently pursuing a Master of Liberal Studies at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Her Bachelor of Arts, also from Rollins, is in Latin American and Caribbean studies and Political Science. She currently works as a public Librarian. 

Lucile Bruce
Wesleyan University
Lucile Bruce is a communications and non-profit professional who lives in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2017, she enrolled in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan University to study American literature and history. She is currently completing her MPHIL thesis.

Cathy J. Carter
Indiana University Southeast

A non-traditional student in every sense of the word, Cathy is taking part in the master of interdisciplinary studies program at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana, and is an employee of the University of Louisville - a short jaunt across the Ohio River. She is thankful for the lessons life has taught her over the years. She's also thankful for ice cream. 

Michael E. Carter
University of Memphis
Michael E. Carter is a graduate student in the Doctorate of Liberal Studies program at the University of Memphis.  He is on the faculty of Northwest Mississippi Community College where he teaches philosophy and religious studies. Carter is a graduate of the M. Div. Program at Emory's Candler School of Theology and was a visiting scholar at Vanderbilt Divinity School.  He graduate Magna Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Art in English literature.  He spent 20 years as an executive in financial technology.  

Sophie Ying Chen
Southern Methodist University
Dr. Ying (Sophie) Chen is an interdisciplinary educator and scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, with a Doctorate in Liberal Studies and dual MFA degrees in studio art and visual design. Her work bridges academic rigor and artistic practice, focusing on community-driven public art and everyday creativity in fostering cultural connection. She examines how art catalyzes social dialogue and empowers communities, with her research and artistic practice converging on themes of digital-age transformation and community building.

Marian Cuevas
San Diego State University
Marian is a San Diego-based interdisciplinary artist. They have received training in creative writing, composition, piano performance, painting, and multimedia arts. She double-majored in philosophy and music, focusing on interdisciplinary art during their master's degree.Their research focuses on existentialism and aesthetics. Their work is a philosophically informed art practice that blurs the lines between artistic disciplines. Their most recent multimedia pieces have been featured internationally in the United States, México, and England.

Ritika Debnath
University of Pennsylvania
Ritika Debnath is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Master of Liberal Arts program, where she specialized in cinema, media, and cultural studies. Her interdisciplinary research examines the intersections of gender, technology, and identity in digital spaces, with a particular interest in algorithmic bias, digital storytelling, and platform culture. With a background in public relations and communications, she brings both academic and industry insight to her work on media ethics and representation.

Chloe Dolandis
Johns Hopkins University
Chloe Dolandis is a JHU MLA student. A professional voice actor and songster, she's most at home creating in multi-genre interdisciplinary mediums. Studying the cross sections of scholarly arenas lights her up and she aims to incorporate that work with her professional career. Chloe's had the pleasure of representing brands including HBO Latin America, Nickelodeon, and Petco. She is a Voice Arts Award Winner. Her favorite song lyric is anything that gives her goosebumps.

Dr. Scott Elphingstone
Southern Methodist University
Dr. Scott Elphingstone received a DLS in December 2024 from SMU. Before retiring in 2018, Scott worked for more than 40 years in finance and accounting in Arkansas, New York, and Texas.  He and his wife, Paige, live in Dallas and have two adult children, Will and Reed. Will is a lighting designer for live performance based in New York, and Reed is a senior engineering major at Purdue.

Thomas E. Finser
Johns Hopkins University 

Thomas Finser is a graduate of the Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) Program at Johns Hopkins University. His work explores the cross-disciplinary intersections of history, mythology, and financial markets. Thomas continues this line of inquiry as an incoming PhD student in the Mythological Studies program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Residing in El Paso, Texas, his life is further enriched by his wife, Armida, and their eight-year-old son, Alexander. Thomas is the founding principal and chief investment officer of Cimarron Capital Management, LLC, a boutique investment advisory firm specializing in equity research and portfolio management. 

Rodi Franco
Rice University
Rodi Franco is currently enrolled at Gratz College pursuing her PhD in Antisemitism Studies.   She completed her MLS coursework and capstone in June 2019 from Rice University.  Rodi also earned an MBA from the University of Houston Bauer Business School (1990) and currently teaches nonprofit marketing to graduate students at that school.  Rodi was chief marketing officer for Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, and Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.

Melva B. Godwin
Indiana University South Bend
Melva B. Godwin is a Master of Liberal Studies candidate at Indiana University South Bend. Her master's thesis examines Marian Anderson's 1944 La Porte Civic Auditorium concert, while recent work critiques Temporary Protected Status as a form of racialized containment. A CRM strategist with three decades of marketing experience, Melva combines archival research with data-driven analysis to illuminate how race, space, and policy shape American life. She volunteers in local music advocacy efforts.

Mike J Gray
University of Memphis
Mike J Gray is a lecturer at Troy University in Troy, AL and a Doctor of Liberal Studies student at the University of Memphis.
His research interests include rhetoric, pedagogy, debate, media, and popular communication.

Derek Hadge
San Diego State University
Derek Hadge is a graduate student in the MALAS program at SDSU and received his Bachelors Degree in Math from CSULB.  He taught math at Lakewood HS in Long Beach after graduating from CSULB.  After leaving teaching, he became a real estate and mortgage broker.  Currently, he works for an oil trading company headquartered in Geneva where he specializes in compliance and due diligence.

Austin Caldwell Haigler
North Carolina State University
Austin C Haigler is a current fourth-year PhD student in the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (CRDM) program, as well as an alum of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program at North Carolina State University. 

Laurie Kraltchev
Southern Methodist University
Laurie "Lue" Kraltchev is a culture strategist, storyteller, polyglot, writer, and creative. She founded Gluemanity, a consulting firm in Dallas, Texas. She has a BA in French Language and Literature from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Master of Liberal Studies in Organizational Dynamics and Humanities from SMU. She is currently a Doctor of Liberal Studies candidate at SMU. Her interdisciplinary research is focused on narratives of culture and creativity within organizations.  

Jill LeRoy-Frazier, Ph.D
East Tennessee State University
Jill LeRoy-Frazier is Professor and Chair of Cross-Disciplinary Studies at East Tennessee State University, where she directs the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies program. Her teaching and research interests include cultural studies, gender and diversity, and Southern studies, focusing primarily on women's literature. 

Eugene Luning
Johns Hopkins University
Eugene Luning is a speaker, author and counselor whose primary focus is contemporary rediscovery of the authentic "Way of Jesus." With this, however, he is also a fascinated student of the history of human nature; a researcher in humanity's understanding of the individual inner life. He is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins MLA and, in Autumn 2025, will commence PhD researches at the University of London's Institute of Historical Research. He is husband to Jenny, and father to Hadley, Tripp and Hoyt. The Lunings live in Colorado.

Sydney Meeker Guerra
Reed College
Sydney Meeker Guerra is a MALS student at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. His focus lies in English Literature and Linguistics with a specialization in Modernist Studies. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in English Language and Literature, with a specialization in Modern Literature and Critical Theory. His work seeks to engage an eschatological framework in imagining how both real and literary worlds are made, remade, and destroyed. 

Dr. Emmeline Miles
Southern Methodist University
Dr. Emmeline Miles is a graduate of the Doctor of Liberal Studies program at Southern Methodist University. Her research explores the intersections of art and trauma, creation and psychological healing. In her free time, she is a professor, a songwriter, a performing musician, and a voting member of the Recording Academy. She is deeply grateful to do everything with the support of her amazing husband and three incredible rescue dogs-especially her oldest, Chloe.

David Carter Morreale
Loyola University, Baltimore
David Carter Morreale's research includes Motorcycles, Philosophy, Grief and The Sublime. David earned his BS at Towson University and his MA at Loyola, Baltimore. David was published in Confluence's 2024 Fall Issue, presented papers at AGLSP in 2023, and The International Journal of Motorcycle Studies Conference at the University of Nottingham, England in 2024. David is a Triple "I" Students Choice Award winner at Riverside High School where he teaches Ap Language and Composition.

Kendra Murphy
University of Memphis
Kendra Murphy is an Associate Professor of Teaching and undergraduate advisor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Memphis. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of Central Arkansas in 2003, her Master of Arts in Sociology at the University of Memphis in 2007, and will be awarded her Doctor of Liberal Studies in August 2025.

Ke Nie
Indiana University Southeast
Ke Nie is currently pursuing a Master of Interdisciplinary Studies at Indiana University Southeast. She explores the intersections of philosophy, education, psychology, communication, and improvisation. Her research connects theoretical frameworks with classroom communication practices to foster engagement, cognitive growth, and inclusive learning. This is her second master's degree, part of a focused path toward a PhD. Previously, she taught at Washington University in St. Louis, where she received multiple teaching awards and deepened her commitment to lifelong learning.

Heather Osborne
Wesleyan University
Heather is the physics lab manager and demo curator for Wesleyan University, a science outreach expert, and a game designer who runs the company Unformed Worlds. "Theorem" is Heather and Ben Parker's first educational game design collaboration, one of many to come.

Ben Parker
Wesleyan University
Ben Parker is the IDEAS lab manager at Wesleyan University, a central position in the College of Design and Engineering. Ben is also a skillful origami artist with a long list of exhibit and presentation credits. "Theorem" is Ben and Heather Osborne's first educational game design collaboration, one of many to come.

Don J. Rath
Johns Hopkins University
Don Rath is an MLA candidate at Johns Hopkins University.  His academic interests are at the intersection of political and social change and literature.  Don is a career finance professional who now teaches accounting and taxation at two universities in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He is also a fiction writer and has published short stories in a dozen literary magazines.  He currently has a short story collection and a novel in development.

Julia Shiller, DLS
Georgetown University
Julia Shiller, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ukraine, serves as Chief of Corporate Return Analysis at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. After immigrating to the United States, she launched a consultancy specializing in project management, business development, and marketing. She recently earned a Doctor of Liberal Studies from Georgetown University, where she explored the theory of numbers and mathematical concepts through a liberal arts lens. Julia has authored several publications and enjoys piano, painting, and sailing. 

Carson Smith
San Diego State University
Carson Smith is an art historian and art history lecturer at San Diego State University. Her current research involves the intersections of politics, art history, and digital media.  

Stephen Spanellis
North Carolina State University
Stephen Spanellis is a second-year PhD student in the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (CRDM) program at North Carolina State University. Stephen is an interdisciplinary media studies scholar that previously earned a BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) at the University of Michigan and Masters degrees in Marketing at Vanderbilt University and English at NCSU. Stephen interrogates the expression of contemporary philosophical, political, and economic issues in comedic media.

Sarah Swiersz
University of Central Florida
Sarah Swiersz is a student in the University of Central Florida Interdisciplinary Studies M.A. program, where she is crafting a concentration in environmental law, policy, & humanities. Her thesis research focuses on climate loss and damage policy, the impact of litigation on water quality policy in the Everglades watershed, and barriers to including Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Everglades Restoration. She also researches interdisciplinary epistemic pluralism in and applications of decolonial theory to astrobiology.

Corina Ulescu
Stanford University  
Corina is a master's student in the MLA program at Stanford University, soon to graduate. Her research explores Shakespeare in performance, focusing on Eastern European theater under communism. Her presentation draws on her graduation thesis, which examines how Romanian director Liviu Ciulei used scenography and staging as tools of resistance in his productions of As You Like It, Macbeth, and The Tempest. She is broadly interested in political censorship, symbolic stage language, and the subversive power of classical theater.