Melody is an early childhood leader and specialist with over 20 years of experience in the field of education. Melody currently works as a Child Care Specialist III as a Supervisor within Fairfax County’s Institute for Early Learning. She Supervises Child Care Specialists II as they design and facilitate professional development for early childhood educators enrolled in the Neighborhood Community Services (NCS) Institute for Early Learning. Melody holds a BS in Early Childhood Education as well as a MEd in Education Management. She has been working with young children, families, and early childhood educators for over two decades in a variety of roles including the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center – Center Director and Office of Engagement Director. She was honored to be a member of the 2021-2022 NAEYC Regional Advocacy Fellowship, collaborating with other DC AEYC, Northern Virginia AEYC and Maryland AEYC fellows to build community, a network for advocacy, and create a shared policy agenda. Melody is passionate about meeting families, educators, and children where they are and creating responsive professional development workshops and curricula that meet their individual needs. She is deeply committed to social justice, equity, and continuous personal reflection. She has participated in various diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, both professionally and personally. Melody is dedicated to supporting educators in their understanding of relationship based and empathy driven support, to provide high quality, equitable educational experiences for all families and children.

Melody is an early childhood leader and specialist with over 20 years of experience in the field of education. Melody currently works as a Child Care Specialist III as a Supervisor within Fairfax County’s Institute for Early Learning. She Supervises ... Show more

Thomas Weibel ist freier Journalist und Professor für Media Engineering. Nach einem Germanistik- und Anglistikstudium an der Universität Bern und nach journalistischen Lehr- und Wanderjahren bei führenden Schweizer Tageszeitungen war er Mitglied der Programmleitung von Radio SRF 2 Kultur, wo er crossmediale Formate entwickelte.

Als selbständiger Multimediaproduzent lehrt Thomas Weibel heute multimediales Erzählen und konvergente Medienproduktion an der Fachhochschule Graubünden sowie an der Hochschule der Künste Bern.

Thomas Weibel ist freier Journalist und Professor für Media Engineering. Nach einem Germanistik- und Anglistikstudium an der Universität Bern und nach journalistischen Lehr- und Wanderjahren bei führenden Schweizer Tageszeitungen war er Mitglied der ... Show more

Sheryn Knaïder, known as "The Disruptive Creator," is a professional who believes in unlocking solutions within challenges by embracing the power of perspective.

With a focus on transforming adversity into achievement and the need for constant reinvention, Sheryn emphasizes the importance of creativity and Problem Solving in navigating today's complex business landscape.

She applies her expertise in various ways: as a Multilingual Keynote Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Consultant, and Author.

Fluent in French, Italian, English, and Arabic, she excels in creative problem-solving, offering solutions to individuals and organizations seeking to thrive in challenging environments.

In addition to her professional endeavors, Sheryn is the Founding President of the Professional Speakers Association of MENA & GCC - PSA Arabia, where her mission is to give a voice to women in these regions and empower them to speak up.

She is also a stand-up comedian in both English and Arabic language.

Sheryn Knaïder, known as "The Disruptive Creator," is a professional who believes in unlocking solutions within challenges by embracing the power of perspective. With a focus on transforming adversity into achievement and the need for constant r... Show more

Tariq Ali Cayne, also known as TAC, is a distinguished educator, speaker, and business professional dedicated to fostering growth and development across diverse audiences. As the Co-Founder and Coaching Director of Pitch Play Co., he integrates gamification into career coaching, making professional development both engaging and accessible.

With a robust background that includes teaching mathematics and serving in various capacities at Fortune 500 companies, Tariq has honed his expertise in business analysis, operations management, and program management. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Georgia State University, complemented by Lean Six Sigma, Scrum Mastery, Data Analytics, and Digital Transformation certifications from esteemed institutions such as Cornell University and MIT.

Tariq's speaking engagements are characterized by his strategic mindset and competitive nature, which he attributes to his lifelong passions as a curious scholar, enthusiastic gamer, and basketball aficionado. He emphasizes the importance of personal investment and continuous learning, inspiring audiences to view business as a game that can be mastered with the right approach.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Tariq is an avid gamer, traveler, and culinary enthusiast, bringing a well-rounded perspective to his coaching and speaking engagements. He aims to empower individuals to achieve their career goals by making career development fun and approachable.

Tariq Ali Cayne, also known as TAC, is a distinguished educator, speaker, and business professional dedicated to fostering growth and development across diverse audiences. As the Co-Founder and Coaching Director of Pitch Play Co., he integrates gamif... Show more

Eran Yahav is the CTO of Tabnine and a professor of Computer Science at the Technion, Israel. His research interests include program synthesis, machine learning for code, program analysis, and program verification. Eran loves long-distance running, and while he hasn’t yet won any medals, he has suffered at least one instance of heatstroke while trying.

Eran Yahav is the CTO of Tabnine and a professor of Computer Science at the Technion, Israel. His research interests include program synthesis, machine learning for code, program analysis, and program verification. Eran loves long-distance running, a... Show more

Cortina Jenelle Caldwell, MAML is on a mission to make the world, or at least her corner of it, a better place. Since the age of 12, Cortina has been a student of creativity and entrepreneurship, learning at the hands of elders, mentors and teachers in the rural South about how to serve, how to build good business and how to be a leader in life. Having to overcome the challenges of being born to teenage parents, the strife of poverty and the slippery slope of wanting to “make it out”, Cortina had an early passion to build the life God envisioned for her and go beyond the limitations imposed upon her by society. The early teachings to pursue an education, keep God first in all things and be a good human paid off and her life is an ongoing testament to the power of hard work, strategy, resilience, authenticity and working from the heart. Since 2004, Cortina has been speaking to audiences all over the world, seeking to ignite hope and courage in others. Notable achievements in her career include:

EPA & Tuskegee University, Environmental Justice Fellow, 2024;
River City Company, Emerging Producers Fellow, 2024;
ArtsBuild Periscope CHA Fellow, 2024;
Certified ICAgile Professional, 2023;
KNOW Global, Notable Women: Asheville, 2020;
Tzedek Impact Award, 2019;
Certified Grant Writing Professional, 2018;
Certified Creative Facilitator, 2016;
Masters of Art in Business Management & Leadership, 2015;
40 Under Forty: Asheville, 2013;
Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2012;
Phi Alpha Honor Society, 2008; and
Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, 2005.

Cortina Jenelle Caldwell, MAML is on a mission to make the world, or at least her corner of it, a better place. Since the age of 12, Cortina has been a student of creativity and entrepreneurship, learning at the hands of elders, mentors and teachers ... Show more

I have a degree in Physics and Astronomy, but I work in IT. Okay, nothing special there. The unlikely thing is that before I ventured into the "exact sciences" (a somewhat inaccurate label, by the way), I actually completed 6 semesters of Literature. So, I have some "humanities" in my academic background. Okay, but what career doesn't? Details of my profile that might give you an idea of ​​the line I want to take in my content production.

My completed writing projects are: editorial and writing for the pop culture and science dissemination magazine Geeky~iD, as well as authoring the book “A Paisagem Limpido ~ Gênese vampírica”. I also wrote research and dissemination articles on Physics, Epistemology, Ancient History, Comparative Religions and Mythology.

As academic activities, I coordinated the UFF/Unesco extension project in Environmental Education, gave lectures at research institutes on Climate Change, clean energy, sustainable development, astronomy, quantum theory, relativity, philosophy of science, data science and artificial intelligence.

I have a degree in Physics and Astronomy, but I work in IT. Okay, nothing special there. The unlikely thing is that before I ventured into the "exact sciences" (a somewhat inaccurate label, by the way), I actually completed 6 semesters of Literature.... Show more

IEEE and Gartner keynote speaker, Renata Loureiro Frade is a PhD Candidate in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms at the University of Aveiro and University of Porto, Portugal. Her research focuses on women in technology communities, digital storytelling, and technofeminism.
Frade has over 20 years of experience as a hybrid professional combining academic research, multiplatform content strategy and production, innovative projects, consulting, and digital ethnography. She is passionate about empowering women to work and become entrepreneurs in IT and STEAM fields, promoting diversity and inclusion.

Attendee in Futures of Entertainment transmedia conference with Dr. Henry Jenkins in MIT MediaLab (2012) and Future of Media conference in Stanford Graduate School of Business at the Stanford University (2016). Artificial Intelligence researcher at the Cátedra Oscar Sala at the University of São Paulo.

As an accomplished author and researcher, Renata Frade has published numerous academic papers and articles on topics related to women in technology, digital storytelling, and technological feminism. She co-edited the book "Technofeminism: Multi and Transdisciplinary Contemporary Views of Women in Technology" (2023) and has presented her research at international conferences.

Frade's work has been recognized with several awards and scholarships, including the Santander Coders 2023 award and a Research Scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for her doctoral studies.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Renata Frade is an active science communicator, frequently contributing articles to media outlets (Digitalks PT, Sapo, Público, Mídia Ninja etc) and speaking at industry events on topics related to women in technology, digital innovation, and transmedia storytelling. She has also led several impactful projects, such as Punch! for Writers, Menino da Terra book app and LitGrilsBr, including developing educational platforms and organizing academic conferences.

Her commitment to staying at the forefront of digital innovation is evident in her pursuit of UX Design Fundamentals specialization from the California Institute of Arts and UX/UI and Interface Design at the University of São Paulo. She's been invited to interviews to digital influencers and press-media such as Público Portuguese newspaper.

Frade holds a Master's degree in Literature from the State University of Rio de Janeiro and a Bachelor's degree in Social Communication (Journalism) from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Her interdisciplinary background uniquely positions her at the intersection of technology, communication, and social impact.

IEEE and Gartner keynote speaker, Renata Loureiro Frade is a PhD Candidate in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms at the University of Aveiro and University of Porto, Portugal. Her research focuses on women in technology communities, d... Show more

Paul Hylenski is an accomplished Aerospace Business Leader based in Maryland. Paul started his leadership journey during his time in the United States Marine Corps. With over 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry, Paul is passionate about leadership and human dynamics. Paul has implemented psychological safety and social engineering principles to create environments where individuals can thrive.
As a thought leader, Paul has written numerous articles on human-centric leadership and maintains a popular LinkedIn newsletter dedicated to the subject. He has also authored books such as "Culture Change through Environment Change," "Coaching for Growth," and "Error-Proofing Humans." These publications showcase his expertise and provide guidance for aspiring leaders in the aerospace industry.
With a track record of success and a genuine commitment to empowering others, Paul Hylenski continues to make significant contributions to aerospace manufacturing. His leadership philosophy and dedication to human dynamics inspire positive and transformative change within organizations.

Paul Hylenski is an accomplished Aerospace Business Leader based in Maryland. Paul started his leadership journey during his time in the United States Marine Corps. With over 20 years of experience in the aerospace industry, Paul is passionate about... Show more

I am a Senior Developer at Hitachi Solutions and a freelance developer for my company The Bunny Network. I'm a wife, and mother of an amazing 10 year old. A third generation printer on both sides of my family, I have ink in my veins and a love of the printed word. I'm also into genealogy, historical preservation, and bicycling.

I am a Senior Developer at Hitachi Solutions and a freelance developer for my company The Bunny Network. I'm a wife, and mother of an amazing 10 year old. A third generation printer on both sides of my family, I have ink in my veins and a love of the... Show more

Bonita Pannell brings over 30 years of experience in healthcare and currently serves as the Director of Community Outreach at UPMC Women’s Magee Hospital. In this role, she acts as a liaison between the hospital and the community, working to enhance access to care, broaden care options, and foster meaningful partnerships. A passionate advocate for the BIPOC community, Pannell develops and leads initiatives aimed at raising awareness and promoting self-empowerment. Her initiatives include organizing Community Health Fairs featuring on-site health screenings, hosting Maternal Health educational baby showers, and providing ongoing mentoring and support groups.
Pannell is an active member of several UPMC councils, including the Diversity Council, the Family Advisory Council, and the Community Doula & Birth Worker Advisory Board, where she advocates for policy changes that strengthen trust and collaboration between healthcare providers and the community. Additionally, she serves as the Director of the UPMC Affiliate Council of Girls on the Run, a national nonprofit organization focused on empowering girls in grades 3 through 8 by strengthening their social, emotional, physical, and behavioral skills. The program operates at 64 school sites and serves over 1,500 girls annually.
Before joining UPMC, Bonita was part of the Gateway Health Plan case management team, where she managed insurance authorizations and cases for individuals with special needs. She also served as the General Manager for Hospice Care of Pittsburgh and Viator Hospice, overseeing care for terminally ill patients for 16 years and Director of Lutheran Senior Life Home Care.
Bonita holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Waynesburg University, a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science from Slippery Rock University. She is also a licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and earned a certificate in Project Management from Villanova University.
A devoted mother, Bonita has two children—Aaron Burden and Tyler-Nicole Pannell—as well as two bonus children, Teona Williams and Brandon Pannell. She is an active member of Triumph Church, where she serves as a Deacon and the Coordinator of the Usher Ministry. Bonita is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Alpha Alpha Omega Chapter.

Bonita Pannell brings over 30 years of experience in healthcare and currently serves as the Director of Community Outreach at UPMC Women’s Magee Hospital. In this role, she acts as a liaison between the hospital and the community, working to enhance ... Show more

Supriya Misra is an Associate Professor of Public Health at San Francisco State University. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on how structural and interpersonal experiences of racism, stigma, and trauma impact the wellbeing of marginalized communities, with a focus on immigrant, Asian American, and South Asian communities in the United States. Her research also interrogates the language, concepts, and framings we use to describe mental health in order to promote dignity and justice for those living with diverse psychological experiences. She also worked for several years in nonprofit management to develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based health education resources, both nationally and globally.

Supriya Misra is an Associate Professor of Public Health at San Francisco State University. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on how structural and interpersonal experiences of racism, stigma, and trauma impact the wellbeing of marginalized comm... Show more

Satya Subrahmanya Sai Ram Gopal Peri (Ram Gopal Peri) is a seasoned Business Integration Architecture leader with over 28 years of global experience delivering large-scale HCM and Payroll transformation initiatives for Fortune 100 companies and global enterprises across technology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, aviation, oil & gas, and life sciences.
Renowned for bridging strategic vision with hands-on execution, he has architected and implemented complex HR technology solutions across on-premise and cloud ecosystems, led multi-country deployments, established Centers of Excellence, and championed modernization strategies with AI, ML, and automation. His career highlights include integrating AI-driven workforce management at Halliburton, directing HR solutions for Microsoft across 109 countries, leading greenfield SuccessFactors implementations for Etihad Airways, and managing SAP HR and Payroll for Shell in 125 countries.
Currently at Accenture, he drives enterprise-wide transformation programs for leading U.S.-based organizations, focusing on scalability, compliance, and user experience through effective stakeholder engagement and global delivery models. An accomplished author with multiple publications and books on HR innovation, AI, and strategic leadership, he holds advanced credentials from premier institutions and is recognized for his expertise in aligning people, processes, and platforms in the evolving digital HR landscape.

Satya Subrahmanya Sai Ram Gopal Peri (Ram Gopal Peri) is a seasoned Business Integration Architecture leader with over 28 years of global experience delivering large-scale HCM and Payroll transformation initiatives for Fortune 100 companies and globa... Show more

Matteo Pace is Assistant Professor of Italian Studies at Connecticut College. In his research, he focuses on the intersections between vernacular cultures and medical thought in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. He is the editor of Dante and the Sciences of the Human: Medicine, Physics, and the Soul (Springer, 2024). His publications focus on Boccaccio’s Decameron in its medical context (Studi sul Boccaccio, 2016; Mediaevalia, 2025), on Giacomo da Lentini and the Aristotelian tradition (Traditio, 2020), on Guido Guinizzelli, Avicenna, and Taddeo Alderotti’s medical philosophy (Romanic Review, 2022), on Catherine of Siena’s theology of blood (Italica, 2022), and on Dante’s relativity of perception (Dante Studies, 2024). He is currently working on a second book manuscript, tentatively titled Of Poets and Physicians: Literature and Medicine in Thirteenth-Century Italy, investigating how the medical milieu of the thirteenth century contributed to shaping vernacular secular culture.

Matteo Pace is Assistant Professor of Italian Studies at Connecticut College. In his research, he focuses on the intersections between vernacular cultures and medical thought in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. He is the editor of Dante and t... Show more

Mellon Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellow in Transpacific Thought at NYU

Mellon Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellow in Transpacific Thought at NYU Show more

Ahmad B. S. is a student of Geology Department Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He was born and raised in Gusau Local Government of Zamfara State.

Ahmad B. S. is a student of Geology Department Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He was born and raised in Gusau Local Government of Zamfara State. Show more

Dr. Nelson has 15 years of experience in the field of Social Work as a direct-practice clinician and researcher. She has engaged in community-based participatory research with underserved minority populations across the globe, with extensive experience centered on rural and minority populations across the Pacific Basin and Alabama. Her research interests include social etiology of health disparities, including barriers and access to care. She has considerable experience in designing and implementing culturally competent research methodology and community outreach that is inclusive of the needs, wants, and unique cultural factors of diverse, intersectional populations.

Dr. Nelson has 15 years of experience in the field of Social Work as a direct-practice clinician and researcher. She has engaged in community-based participatory research with underserved minority populations across the globe, with extensive experien... Show more

Tony DelaRosa is the son of Pampangan & Caviteño Filipino immigrants and the father of two Filipinx-Cuban kids. Tony holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University and is now a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Education Leadership & Policy Analysis department, where he researches how institutions, ethnic studies policies, and coalitions impact leadership practices. Tony is the author of the award-winning book "Teaching the Invisible Race: Embodying a Pro-Asian American Lens in Schools," published by Jossey-Bass. He co-investigates the USAP Tayo Lab at the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison, where he researches the correlation between politics and the well-being of Filipina/x/o Americans. Before his research, he was a humanities teacher in Indianapolis and Boston, and an instructional coach in Miami-Dade between 2012 and 2022. His work has been featured in CNN, NPR, Harvard Education Magazine, NBC, KQED, the Hechinger Report and other publications. Learn more at TonyRosaSpeaks.com.

Tony DelaRosa is the son of Pampangan & Caviteño Filipino immigrants and the father of two Filipinx-Cuban kids. Tony holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University and is now a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Education Leadership & Polic... Show more

Anabelle B. Ragsag is a Mindanao Filipino Canadian PhD candidate at McMaster University’s School of Social Work and a community organizer for the Filipino and Asian communities in her city.

Her dissertation imagines what publicly accountable AI systems within the welfare state can look like. It examines how automation, predictive analytics, and data infrastructures restructure access to income support while intensifying racialized, gendered, and classed inequities. Informed by feminist political economy, Asian Canadian feminisms, and critical platform studies, her work traces how digital governance technologies extend long-standing regimes of surveillance and control under the guise of efficiency and modernization. By centring marginalized claimants’ encounters with datafied welfare systems, she exposes the limits of current accountability frameworks and advances the concept of data solidarities: collective practices of care, resistance, and mutual accountability that emerge among those directly navigating and impacted by automated governance.

Entering her PhD studies as a mature student, Anabelle previously worked in international and community development, working with the UNV and the ASEAN Secretariat, including program evaluation and teaching across several countries in Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and North Africa, Germany, Australia, and Canada.

Anabelle B. Ragsag is a Mindanao Filipino Canadian PhD candidate at McMaster University’s School of Social Work and a community organizer for the Filipino and Asian communities in her city. Her dissertation imagines what publicly accountable AI ... Show more

Van Tran Nguyen (she/her) is a Vietnamese American artist-scholar, practicing filmmaker, curator, and multimedia artist. In 2017, Tran Nguyen earned a master's degree in fine arts from the State University of New York, at Buffalo. Then in 2021, she earned her doctorate in the Philosophy of Electronic Art at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Her research investigates Asian American performance and media(tions) of the diaspora. Tran Nguyen’s monograph, No Bodies Home: Mediations of Performance in Exile explores Cold War technological advancement and argues that racialized and gendered bodies of the Asian diaspora are the material and technological output of warfare. Her first short film, ERIE COUNTY SMILE, was released in 2021 and is available for public access via the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Her first full-length feature film, THE MOTHERLOAD, premiered at the Hawaii International Film Festival with support from the Vilcek Foundation’s New American Perspectives.

In the fall of 2021, she was appointed the Maya Brin Institute for New Performance and Technology Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently an Early Career Fellow at the UCLA Center on Race & Digital Justice. In the fall of 2024, she joined the Department of Performing Arts at Georgetown University as the Assistant Professor of Performance and Media. Dr. Tran Nguyen teaches courses across theory and practice including performance, digital filmmaking, and film & media history.

Van Tran Nguyen (she/her) is a Vietnamese American artist-scholar, practicing filmmaker, curator, and multimedia artist. In 2017, Tran Nguyen earned a master's degree in fine arts from the State University of New York, at Buffalo. Then in 2021, she e... Show more

grace shinhae jun is a mother, wife, artist, educator, and scholar. The daughter of a South Korean immigrant and a North Korean refugee, she comes from a lineage of deep love and commitment to serve the people. She has performed nationally and internationally with bkSOUL performance collective which she founded in 2001. Her research and artistic practices are grounded in Hip Hop culture and cross cultural collaborations that challenge the systems of violence and oppression steeped in anti-Blackness. Her scholarship includes publications in the Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Dance Studies, the International Association for the Study of Popular Music Journal, and is the co-editor for Dance Studies Association’s 2022 ​​Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance at San Diego City College, teaches with transcenDANCE Youth Arts, and at UCSD where she was the recipient of the 2022/2023 Barbara and Paul Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award. Ph.D. Drama & Theatre UCSD/UCI, MFA Dance Sarah Lawrence College.

grace shinhae jun is a mother, wife, artist, educator, and scholar. The daughter of a South Korean immigrant and a North Korean refugee, she comes from a lineage of deep love and commitment to serve the people. She has performed nationally and intern... Show more

keziah aurin (they/them) is a graduate student at San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies. keziah’s immigration to the U.S. from the Philippines and being undocumented shaped their understanding of marginalization and interest in reimagining a world where everyone, especially the Third World peoples, is truly liberated. Previously a counselor at the nation’s first Undocumented Student Program, keziah now serves as a writer for the non-profit Immigrants Rising while pursuing their master’s, shifting their focus on radical narrative change and uniting academic discourse with praxis. keziah’s research interests are displacement/alienation, race/ethnicity, queerness, and immigration.

keziah aurin (they/them) is a graduate student at San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies. keziah’s immigration to the U.S. from the Philippines and being undocumented shaped their understanding of marginalization and interest in reim... Show more

Pujarinee Mitra (she/her/hers) is a PhD student at Texas A&M University, College Station. Her research focuses on the mobilization of anti-fascist affects in South Asian English literature and Hindi commercial cinema from 1990-present. She has published her work in Humanities, Feminist Encounters, and Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics. Her public-facing writing has appeared in Film Companion and Live Wire. Her areas of interest include Postcolonial Studies, South Asian Literature and Cinema, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Cultures of Fascism and Anti-Fascism, and Affect Theory.

Pujarinee Mitra (she/her/hers) is a PhD student at Texas A&M University, College Station. Her research focuses on the mobilization of anti-fascist affects in South Asian English literature and Hindi commercial cinema from 1990-present. She has publis... Show more

Eleonora Buonocore is Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Calgary, Alberta (Canada). She holds a PhD in Medieval Philosophy from University of Siena, (2009) and in 2016 she completed her second PhD from Yale University. In 2017 she was Visiting Assistant Professor of Italian at Colby College, before moving to Canada. In 2022 she won the Student Union award for excellence in teaching at the University of Calgary. In 2021-22 she was a fellow at the Calgary Institute for the Humanities working on her monograph on the concept of memory in Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Her research lies at the intersection between philosophy and literature in the Medieval world, in Dante and in early Renaissance thought. She co- edited a volume of Studium (2021) in which she also published an article on Dante’s Convivio and Monarchia as well as she has published on Italian women writers such as Carolina Invernizio and on Italian Film.

Eleonora Buonocore is Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Calgary, Alberta (Canada). She holds a PhD in Medieval Philosophy from University of Siena, (2009) and in 2016 she completed her second PhD from Yale University. In 201... Show more

Vanessa Ajagu is an attorney in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group.

Vanessa has broad experience in high-stakes complex litigation before federal and state courts, representing clients in the technology, labor and employment, and finance sectors. These matters include defending a major technology company in a securities class action, representing clients in multiple shareholder litigation matters before the Delaware Court of Chancery, achieving victory on behalf of a leading beverage company in arbitration, and reversing a lower court ruling in favor of a streaming company in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Vanessa has a robust pro bono practice centered on appellate advocacy and women’s rights. She has argued and briefed matters before appellate courts, including successfully challenging a decision that reduced attorneys’ fees awarded to The Legal Aid Society based solely on its nonprofit status. She has also contributed to multiple amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court. Beyond her appellate work, Vanessa advocates for survivors of domestic violence—obtaining a restraining order on behalf of one client following an evidentiary hearing and successfully achieving a reduced sentence for another under New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA).

Before joining the firm, Vanessa served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Margo K. Brodie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Vanessa received her Juris Doctor in 2020 from Columbia Law School, where she was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and served as a Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review. At Columbia Law, she was awarded a Parker School Recognition of Achievement in International and Comparative Law and selected as a fellow for the Salzburg Lloyd N. Cutler Fellows Program in International Law. She received a Master’s in International Criminal Law from the University of Amsterdam in 2020 and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with high distinction from Queen’s University in 2017.

Vanessa is admitted to practice before the Southern and Eastern District Courts of New York as well as New York state courts.

Vanessa Ajagu is an attorney in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. Vanessa has broad experience in high-stakes complex litigation before federal and state courts, representi... Show more

Trinity Paige Encarnacion (she/her) is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. There, she is also a First-Year Writing Instructor and Ethnic Studies TA. Her creative work can be found in Pinch and Periphery.

Trinity Paige Encarnacion (she/her) is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. There, she is also a First-Year Writing Instructor and Ethnic Studies TA. Her creative work can be found... Show more

Dr. Theodore S. Gonzalves is a scholar of comparative cultural studies and a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. A Fulbright scholar and former interim director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, he has taught in the United States, Spain, and the Philippines since 1991. His acclaimed book Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects (2023) earned the Smithsonian Secretary’s Research Prize. An accomplished musician and past president of the Association for Asian American Studies, Dr. Gonzalves was appointed to the Organization of American Historians’ Distinguished Lectureship Program and currently serves on the board of the American Council of Learned Societies.

Dr. Theodore S. Gonzalves is a scholar of comparative cultural studies and a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. A Fulbright scholar and former interim director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, he has ta... Show more

Jocyl Sacramento is an Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at Cal State East Bay, where she serves as the Director of Curriculum and Pedagogy for INSPIRE, a First Year Experience program. Her praxis bridges Asian American Studies with women of color feminisms, relational racialization, Ethnic Studies pedagogies, Pinayism, and love. She co-edited the forthcoming Comparative Ethnic Studies textbook, Love, Knowledge, and Revolution (Routledge).

Jocyl Sacramento is an Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at Cal State East Bay, where she serves as the Director of Curriculum and Pedagogy for INSPIRE, a First Year Experience program. Her praxis bridges Asian American Studies with women of colo... Show more

Arnab Banerji is an Associate Professor of Theatre History and Dramatic Literature at Loyola
Marymount University located in the unceded lands of the Gabrilieno Tongva people also known
as Los Angeles. He is the author of Contemporary Group Theatre from Kolkata, India
(Routledge 2020). Arnab’s essays and reviews have been published in Theatre Journal, Theatre
Topics, Asian Theatre Journal, TDR, BOOM California, Ecumenica, Theatre Symposium,
Sanglap, Cerebration, and SERAS. His current research is in performances by the Indian diaspora, translations of Indian vernacular plays, and contemporary Bengali theatre.

Arnab Banerji is an Associate Professor of Theatre History and Dramatic Literature at Loyola Marymount University located in the unceded lands of the Gabrilieno Tongva people also known as Los Angeles. He is the author of Contemporary Group Theatre... Show more

Nicole Weydmann ist Professorin für qualitative Methoden an der Hochschule Furtwangen, Mitglied des Lehrwerkstätten-Netzwerks und Mit-Herausgeberin der FQS-Debatte "Lehren und Lernen qualitativer Methoden". Ihre Arbeitsschwerpunkte sind qualitative Sozialforschung mit Fokus auf reflexiven und performativen Methoden sowie die Transformation von Lehr- und Lernbedingungen in (Hoch-) Schule. Darüber hinaus beschäftigt sie sich mit gesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozessen und Mensch-Umwelt-Beziehungen in Zeiten krisenhafter Umweltveränderungen.

Nicole Weydmann ist Professorin für qualitative Methoden an der Hochschule Furtwangen, Mitglied des Lehrwerkstätten-Netzwerks und Mit-Herausgeberin der FQS-Debatte "Lehren und Lernen qualitativer Methoden". Ihre Arbeitsschwerpunkte sind qualitative S... Show more