Resilient Campus

To kickoff season three, I invite you to join me for a discussion at a gathering of the Trans*forming Higher Education Collaborative in Tucson, Arizona. T.H.E. Collaborative is “a group of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) educators dedicated to addressing transgender oppression in and through higher education." (T.H.E. Vision Statement, 2018) We centered the work of adrienne marry brown’s book, “Emergent Strategy”, by focusing on three questions. We had a very robust convening arou...

To kickoff season three, I invite you to join me for a discussion at a gathering of the Trans*forming Higher Education Collaborative in Tucson, Arizona. T.H.E. Collaborative is “a group of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) educators dedicated to addressing transgender oppression in and through higher education." (T.H.E. Vision Statement, 2018) We centered the work of adrienne marry brown’s book, “Emergent Strategy”, by focusing on three questions. We had a very robust convening arou...

To kickoff season three, I invite you to join me for a discussion at a gathering of the Trans*forming Higher Education Collaborative in Tucson, Arizona. T.H.E. Collaborative is “a group of transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) educators dedicated to addressing transgender oppression in and through higher education." (T.H.E. Vision Statement, 2018) We centered the work of adrienne marry brown’s book, “Emergent Strategy”, by focusing on three questions. We had a very robust convening arou...

In episode 30, my guest Tori Svoboda shares raw stories and thoughts on life as a professional in higher education as well as equity in the academy. She discusses her lifelong journey, her experiences as a student, and how that all shapes her work today. Tori encourages us to take action and be relevant, while trying to balance not being too disruptive. Make sure to check out some great resources in the show notes! About Tori: A formerly low-income and still first-generation student, staff, ...

In episode 29, my guest Julia R. Golden reminds us to be careful, kind, and patient with ourselves. Julia talks about the work they move forward, not only in Boston but across the nation through the NASPA Ubuntu Institute. Julia encourages us to follow our heart and trust our gut. We conclude our discussion with a tremendous list of resources and fantastic guidance to inform your daily work.

Intro Paragraph: In episode 28, Dr. Sonja Ardoin provides an overview of her current work as a scholar-practitioner. She highlights tremendous resources on the issues of social class, rural experiences, and first-generation pathways in higher education. She shares information about her upcoming book and provides contact information so you can add her to your network. About Dr. Ardoin: Sonja Ardoin, Ph.D. is an author, learner, educator, & facilitator. Proud of her hometown of Vidrine, Lousiana and her first-generation college student to PhD journey, Sonja is now a scholar-practitioner of higher education. She studies social class identity, college access and success for rural and first-generation college students, student and women's leadership, and career preparation and pathways in higher education and student affairs. Learn more at www.sonjaardoin.com.

In this episode, Erin-Kate Escobar (she/her/they/them) shines light on countless practices of personal and professional resources and strategies for changing the world one human connection at a time Erin-Kate highlights a program she coordinates for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) students that uses “mentoring pods”. She discusses the foundational readings and bodies of work that inform her approach today. Erin-Kate has tremendous guidance regarding finding community in this work and shares tips and tools for practicing internal self-work as well. We conclude the interview by addressing the prevalence of experiences of personal trauma in professional roles as social justice educators. A note about sensitive content: We talk about experiences of sexual harassment in organizational settings, so I include a note to listeners to provide agency in tuning into this part of the interview or opting out. About Erin-Kate: Erin-Kate Escobar (she/her/they/them) holds a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of Vermont. They provide leadership, outreach, policy, and programming support for campus-wide diversity initiatives. Her primary responsibilities at California Institute of Technology include the Women's Engagement Board, Women Mentoring Women, LGBTQ+ support, safe zone training, and facilitating workshops and training on topics of diversity, inclusion and unconscious bias.

In part two of episode 26, Drea Elzy and I have an unfiltered conversation about resources that inform her wildly brilliant mind. You are being invited to listen in on Drea and I bouncing ideas off one another like two old friends catching up. We giggle, we ponder, and we dive deeply into lessons and guidance from her personal and professional journeys navigating West Coast and the Midwest. Connect with Drea on multiple social media accounts. I tried to close out our discussion a couple of times unsuccessfully and my good friend Drea was not ready to close out just yet. On a technical note, the sound quality was not the best during our call and there was a slight delay, but Dustin Ramsdell of Higher Ed Geek worked his magic to enhance the quality. Drea and I even have a technical moment that I decided to keep in the episode in the spirit of providing unfiltered spaces, because Drea flows seamlessly back into a beautiful stream of thought and it was pretty hilarious. About Drea: Originally from Los Angeles California, Drea now works in a unique blended space which touches K-12, higher ed, and policy in the City of Chicago.

In the first part of my interview with Drea Elzy, we talk about making moves from the West Coast to the Midwest as an educator in K-12 and higher education roles. Drea wears multiple hats today and elaborates on her work disrupting education environments to address the opportunity gap in Chicago. She expands on her philosophy of "intentional autonomy" and how she enacts it and her work. Drea is very reflective and very articulate, so listen closely for a case study regarding implementation of complex initiatives and finding balance, harmony, and radical self-care. We mention our higher education grad program, which we refer to us PASA, which is the postsecondary administration and student affairs at the University of Southern California, as well as Dr. Shafiqa Ahmadi, one of the influential faculty in our program. About Drea: Originally from Los Angeles California, Drea now works in a unique blended space which touches K-12, higher ed, and policy in the City of Chicago.

In this episode, Dian drops a ton of wisdom about the need for creativity, imagination, and risk-taking to address issues of social justice. He echoes the work of Grace Lee Boggs, to revolutionize our minds and offers questions and strategies to nourish a creative spirit. Dian offers a response to dialogues about self-care and draws connections to resources in the field of leisure studies that offer alternative frameworks. He shares more about his work today that aims to humanize black folx in a world that perpetuates anti-black racism and dehumanizes black community members. Dian provides guidance from his experiences in student affairs, faculty, and researcher roles. He then highlights several resources to add to your social justice reading list to close out our time together. About Dian: Dian is an assistant professor of counseling-student affairs at northern arizona university. He was previously a visiting assistant professor at Iowa State University and a postdoctoral fellow at the Univ of Denver. He is a first-generation college student, bi-racial Asian American queer man who studies race and racism in higher education. He is an occasional triathlete, an always-foodie, and literally cannot breathe right now at 7000 ft elevation in Flagstaff.

In episode 24, we welcome the first K-12 educator to the show. Humberto Reyes, a high school educator in Southern California, brings forth resonant themes of developing culturally relevant learning experiences, refining our habits, knowledge, and abilities, and infusing activism within our classrooms. Humberto believes we must come to this work as educators with a fresh spirit and an open mind. He elaborates on his first-generation identity and its influence on his scrappy approach to developing community and locating professional growth opportunities. He shares his own struggles and strategies related to finding a community of like-minded social justice and activist educators. We conclude our discussion with some suggested readings for history, social studies, and ethnic studies teachers, as well as contact information to add Humberto to your network. About Humberto: Humberto Reyes is a social studies teacher out of Southern California. He is currently interested in teaching and research in Ethnic Studies and teaching History through a social justice, revisionist lens.

In my discussion with T.J. Jourian, he tells us about his current work researching campus climate by creating heat maps. This scholarship offers an opportunity to check the pulse of campus regarding college and university micro-climates. He then describes how he connects scholarship with policy and practice. T.J. shares the context shaping his philosophy for higher education activism today. He shares three points of guidance he has learned throughout his career and a phenomenal array of books and podcasts that inform his work. He concludes by sharing vulnerable insights about his identities as an immigrant and person of transgender experience. About T.J.: T.J. Jourian is a social justice educator, learner, activist, and speaker, having worked with hundreds of college campuses, conferences, and community-based organizations across Turtle Island. In 2005, T.J. was featured in the Sundance docu-series TransGeneration, depicting a single academic year in the lives of four trans college students at four different institutions, and giving him a platform from which to amplify justice work. Motivated by intersectional and liberatory movements and lenses, he brings his personal, communal, and professional perspectives into all kinds of classrooms, and his empowering and dynamic presentations speak to a variety of audiences - from staff members and students, to faculty and broader community members. T.J.'s professional experiences span LGBTQ life, residential life, women's center work, multicultural affairs, orientation, and leadership. Currently, his research and advocacy center queer and trans people of color in achieving the democratic and liberatory potentials of higher education. T.J. co-founded T*Circle, the only collective by and for trans educators in higher education and student affairs, and co-founded the interdisciplinary and open access Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs.

In episode 22, Rachel Wagner shares her salient identities and expands on the work she is engaging in today as an Assistant Professor at Clemson University. She uplifts the theory of liberatory consciousness and provides us a powerful reading list of resources that inform her work as a social justice educator. Rachel shares a lesson learned and an important piece of guidance for other professionals doing the work today.

In the second part of my interview with D-L Stewart, we discuss where D-L finds kinship and “refills his well”, shares the biggest lessons and points of guidance for others doing social justice work in higher education spaces. D-L shares suggestions for maintaining the momentum needed for transformative social justice work and provides strategies for investing in people’s lives in higher education. Stay tuned for the comprehensive reading list of works that inform his work and details on how to add D-L to your network. About D-L: D-L is a scholar focusing on postsecondary education and issues of minoritization; trans parent of a trans child; Violet's human; Capricorn; over 40 Gen-Xer.

In part one of my interview with D-L Stewart, he shares stories of his early socialization as a student affairs professional and how he has grown and learned from these experiences. He tells us about the array of research and community-based projects he’s currently engaged in and even a couple he wants to kick off soon. D-L addresses preventing burnout, creating enough ripples to make waves, all in the hopes of making postsecondary education spaces more radically democratic. Don’t miss arrival of the second part of this interview on Tuesday, July 24th. About D-L: D-L is a scholar focusing on postsecondary education and issues of minoritization; trans parent of a trans child; Violet's human; Capricorn; over 40 Gen-Xer.

Episode 20 explores Dr. Cabrera’s role and philosophy as a public scholar in the context of systems of tenure. He speaks about the Influence of college presidents in setting the tone for serving first-generation and low-income students as well as where he finds a supportive community of scholars of color to practice vulnerability. To end, Dr. Cabrera shares two of the biggest lessons imparted by his mentors and offers guidance for scholars of color in their own efforts to make social impact as faculty. You’ll be left inspired and reflective after this incredible episode! About Dr. Cabrera: Dr. Cabrera is an associate professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. His work explores racial dynamics of college campuses with a particular focus on Whiteness. He was also one of the expert witnesses in the Federal trial regarding the ban on Mexican American Studies in Tucson Unified, and he was the only academic featured on the MTV documentary "White People."

This resonant episode focuses a lot on the first generation college student experience in general and how it has shaped our awesome guest, Dr. La’Tonya Rease Miles. She shares her story and the wisdom her journey has given her as she works to support other first generation students. As an authentic, driven, and passionate professional, “LT” as she is called, serves as a great resource that we can’t wait for you to hear from. About La’Tonya: La'Tonya "LT" Rease Miles is the Director of First Year Experience at UCLA, where she works collaboratively with Residential Life, Student Affairs departments more generally and academic departments campus-wide to develop initiatives and to increase awareness of the first-year experience on campus. She earned a Ph.D. in American literature from UCLA; and her research interests include the hidden curriculum in higher education, narratives about the first-generation college experience, and the relationship of physical space and college student engagement. Further, she is passionate about NBA basketball, college football, "The Flash" and “Friday Night Lights."

About Mark: Mark Chung Kwan Fan is an Asian Mauritian-born and immigrated to the U.S. at 19 years young. He currently serves as the Assistant Director for Engagement at the Spectrum Center at University of Michigan. With a student-centered approach, he approaches his work with a racial and gender justice foci. His past experience revolves in areas of housing and residence life, honors college, international student orientation and support, and identity-based initiatives.

In episode 17, Dr. Olivia Munoz centers authenticity, the power of art for resistance, and putting pen-to-paper for individual and communal self-care. Showing up as your authentic self and the potential risks and consequences unique to each of our contexts and identities. Dr. Munoz addresses cultural capital of first-generation, working class, and communities of color from an asset-based approach, affirming that students bring tremendous cultural capital to colleges and universities. She uplifts the importance of individual and communal self-care and shares some of her preferred practices of self-care. She concludes by encouraging professionals today to seek opportunities, particularly doctoral opportunities and engaging in dissertation research you’re passionate about for colleagues of color. About Dr. Muñoz: Olivia Muñoz is an interdisciplinary student affairs professional with nearly a decade of experience in residential education and social justice programming. She currently serves as the Director of Residential Life & Community Standards at Mills College, a historically women’s institution in Oakland, California. Her experience includes student activism development, support for undocumented students, first-generation scholars, and community art projects. She has also presented nationally on the use of testimonio as an educational research methodology, art activism, and Latinas in student affairs. Olivia recently graduated with her doctorate in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. She was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan, and considers herself a blue collar scholar.

In this episode, Dr. Jessica Lopez Lyman recalls her earliest memories of learning and the resulting availability of new worlds and possibilities. She centralizes this question for our deep consideration in order to imagine ideal conditions for a better tomorrow: “What do you want?” She directly connects the act of manifesting, something as simple as writing and keeping our dreams and visions in order to make them a reality. She offers guidance for today’s higher education inclusion innovators that includes a practice of discipline as a form of liberation, of having agency in our lives and outcomes. About Dr. Lopez Lyman: Jessica Lopez Lyman, Ph.D. is an interdisciplinary performance artist and Xicana feminist scholar interested in how People of Color create alternative spaces to heal and imagine new worlds. She received her PhD in Chicana and Chicano Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her manuscript, tentatively titled Midwest Mujeres: Chicana/Latina Performance explores racialized and gendered geographies of urban Minnesota. Jessica is a member of Electric Machete Studios, a Chicanx/Latinx/Indigenous art collective on St. Paul’s West Side. She is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies where she will join the faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2019.