Jigna DesaiKari Smalkoski |
Jigna Desai is Professor in the Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies and the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Minnesota. She researches issues of race, gender, and sexuality in media. She has also written extensively on issues of racial and gender disparities and social justice. She has long been an advocate for underrepresented students of color within higher education. For the last decade, she has focused on the role of digital learning in the classroom; she is especially interested in how digital tools can be integrated to empower students and further social justice. Desai also researches how to support the civil rights and disability rights of autistic people.
|
Noah Barth |
Kari Smalkoski is a researcher in the Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies and an affiliate and executive advisory board member at the Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center in North, Minneapolis. Her work focuses on masculinity, boys and boyhood, social inequality, and educational access. Kari is a teacher who, for almost two decades, has been actively engaged with immigrant and urban youth of color in the Twin Cities, primarily as an educator of high school and college aged youth in the areas of English language learning and English Language Arts. She is also a mom, runner, and wanna-be women's soccer player.
|
|
Noah Barth is an graduate student in Heritage Studies and Public History focusing specifically on queer communities and alternative sexuality. He currently serves as the Historian for the Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. Noah moved from Minnesota from Chicago, where he went to DePaul University, getting his Bachelor's Degree in American Studies and minoring in Community Service Studies. Noah has previously worked as an HIV prevention counselor at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, been the conference chair for the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC), and an archival intern at the Leather Archives & Museum.
|
Interns |
Ciara Gardner |
Ciara Gardner is a Senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Communications and minoring in African-American Studies. She is also on a full-ride scholarship for Gymnastics at the University. Ciara is a very busy student-athlete exploring her post-graduation career options. Ciara loves working with people and helping others. She joined 10,000 Stories because she enjoys working with youth, especially diverse groups of youth. This is something she didn't get to experience while growing up herself.
|
Christina Jensen recently graduated from the University of Minnesota having studied English; Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies; and DirecTrack to Teaching. She will attend graduate school for a Teaching Licensure + Masters of Education program as a final step before her career in Secondary English Education. Christina dedicated her entire undergraduate experience to working with youth, leadership, and social justice.
|