Communicating Sustainability

Kent Devereaux
President of Goucher College

Amy Skillman
Director, MA in Cultural Sustainability, Goucher College

Queen Nur
MA Creative Arts Director,Clemmons Family Farm, Vermont

Queen Nur is the Creative Arts Director at the Clemmons Family Farm in Vermont. She is a nationally-known storyteller who has worked with communities to use story as an effective way to foster social change. She presents original works, traditional tales, workshops, lectures and residencies extensively to theaters, schools, libraries, universities, museums, churches, community organizations, festivals, hospitals, family reunions, conferences, elder centers, retreats and special events. Queen received her MA degree in Cultural Sustainability from Goucher College in 2015 and served as the Director of the Folklife Center at Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ, from 2016-2020.

Gina Shamshak
Ph.D., Goucher College

Gina Shamshak is an environmental and natural resource economist who specializes in fisheries and aquaculture economics. Her dissertation research examined the economics of offshore bluefin tuna aquaculture in the United States by developing a dynamic stochastic bioeconomic model of this form of production. She has also published on the highly valued global geoduck market. Her current research agenda focuses on seafood markets, fishing communities and the fishing industry in the state of Georgia.

Jennifer Sweeney Tookes
Ph.D., Georgia Southern University

Jennifer Sweeney Tookes is an applied cultural anthropologist at Georgia Southern University who has conducted anthropological research in the Southeastern US and the Caribbean since 2003. After completing a Ph.D. in Anthropology at Emory University, her post-doctoral training in Environmental Sciences investigated the potential for Georgia seafood producers to participate in active local foods movements. Her research focuses on seafood production and fishing communities, relating to mariculture, environmental sustainability, health and well-being, and the cultural heritage of fishing communities.

Marilyn M. White
Ph.D., President, American Folklore Society

Dr. Marilyn M. White received her B.A. in English from Hampton University, her M.A. in Folklore from Indiana University, and her Ph.D. in Folklore and Anthropology from The University of Texas. She taught at Central Washington University, Western Kentucky University, and retired from Kean University. In addition to long-term research in Little Cayman, she has done research in Japan, on family folklore, African American folklore, and African American literature.  She serves on the board of the New Jersey Folklore Society, of City Lore, and is the current President of the American Folklore Society.

Tanya Debose
Preserving Communities of Color

Tanya Debose is an activist, organizer and advocate for preserving African American history and culture. Debose is most known for her work in the Independence Heights where she has deep roots as her great grandfather was one of the early pioneers to purchase land in what was the first African American municipality in Texas, known as Independence Heights. Debose is the founder of Preserving Communities of Color, an initiative that supports grassroots preservation in communities of color by transforming them into inclusive places and cultural destinations. 

Debose participates in several national initiatives most notably, the Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance where she coordinates the Black Towns Roundtable and spearheads many media and engagement campaigns aimed at building awareness about historic black towns. She was recently appointed by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to serve on the Houston Archeological and Historical Commission and is chair of the Harris County African American Cultural Heritage Commission. She has received many awards and recognitions for her work and speaks at public events and conferences. She is the mother of two and resides in Houston.

Marco Robinson
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History and Assistant Director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice, Prairie View A&M University, Texas

Dr. Marco Robinson is a historian, archival and qualitative methods specialist. Marco is the Assistant Director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice at Prairie View A&M University. Robinson’s recent co-edited book, "Contemporary Debates in Social Justice: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Exploring the Lives of Black and Brown Americans" explores the complexities around Black and Brown communities and social justice issues. Marco specializes in historic preservation and facilitating projects that engage in the digitization of historical pictures and documents. Robinson’s 2018 article “Telling the Stories of Forgotten Communities,” explores the efficacy of oral histories and working on collaborative teams to document the histories of black communities. Marco is a strong advocate for community studies and organizing community archives. A native of Hernando, Mississippi, Dr. Robinson received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in History from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

Jenna Ashton Winton
MA., Cultural Sustainability Consulting, LLC.

Jenna Ashton Winton founded Cultural Sustainability Consulting, LLC, a consulting business specializing in cultural sustainability assessment, monitoring, and project evaluation. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication from Savannah College of Art and Design and traveled the world before getting her Master of Arts in Cultural Sustainability from Goucher College. She is currently the folklorist and program director at the Folk Art Alliance at the Walk In Art Center. Research interests include cultural sustainability indicators, cultural ecology, and applied mathematics in the social sciences. Visit her at culturalsustainabilityconsulting.com

Klaudia Oliver
MA., Cultural Consultant, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

M. Onaje Jackson
MA., Sustainable Systems and Design International, USVI

M. Onaje Jackson was a leader and pioneer in the sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable design and technology movements with over 40 years of thought and applied leadership in these areas. His company, Sustainable Systems & Design International (SSDI), has been a leading performer in earth-friendly infrastructure and facility design for the past 30 years and earned recognition as a major leader in solar electric-PV system design and application, being responsible for ground-breaking net-metering and building integrated projects. SSDI completed successful renewable energy/”green” technology, sustainable development and sustainability projects throughout the Americas including with The World Bank in Guyana, South America, The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and the Virgin Islands Energy Office and The Nature Conservancy.

Cecelia Ottenweller
MA., Independent Consultant

Cecelia Ottenweller, MA, is an independent researcher and content strategist based in Houston, Texas and recent graduate of the Goucher MA in Cultural Sustainability program. Her capstone was an ethnography project examining the cultural issues behind Black maternal health disparities in Houston, TX. Before returning to school, Cecelia was the creative director and senior consultant for the creative arm of HexaGroup, a digital media firm in Houston, Texas, where she created and managed special projects (video, animation, education programs, marketing campaigns), led the firm’s content and design teams, and conducted UX research and designed interfaces for digital portals and software interfaces. Her other projects include institutional histories, museum exhibit content development, and interpretive design for zoo habitats.

Stacy Cohen
M.Ed., Framingham State University

Stacy Cohen is the senior Instructional Technologist at Framingham State University and works collaboratively to manage the implementation and configuration of enterprise EdTech software that supports teaching and learning. Projects include supporting Teaching with Technology Grants, program assessment, and video and lecture capture policy and procedures. She brings a background as a K12 educator and a passion for inclusivity, access, and belonging. Presentation themes include engagement strategies, accessibility, and active learning, with expertise in video and virtual meetings. Stacy holds a B.A. in English and secondary education from Bridgewater State University and a M.Ed in Ed Tech from Framingham State University.

Suzette Garay
Ph.D., Diversity Academy for Interpreters

Suzette Garay, BA, MA. Psy.S and Ph.D, is a third generation Deaf Person of Color from Nicaragua. She specializes in Deafness and Learning Disabilities and teaches American Sign Language. After retiring as an Educational Psychologist, Dr Garay continues in private practice with families, individuals, and private business owners about interpreting, accessibility, diversity, and advocacy with diverse Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Deaf-Blind consumers. Dr Garay founded and leads Diversity Academy for Interpreters and others interested in Deaf life, and is a co-founder of The BEACON Project.

Ambarish Karmalkar
Ph.D., Department of Geosciences, UMass Amherst

Ambarish Karmalkar is a research professor at the Department of Geosciences at UMass Amherst and a research fellow at the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (NE CASC). The main focus of Ambarish’s current research is using observations and climate models to understand regional climate change in the northeastern U.S. and its impacts on hydrological and ecological systems in the region.

Stephanie Jo Kent
Ph.D., Learning Lab for Resiliency®

Stephanie Jo Kent is an action researcher focusing on how language and social interaction generate cultural experiences of time which then shape cultural practices of communication. Steph has been working as a professional sign language interpreter for nearly 30 years, is the founder of the Learning Lab for Resilency® and co-founder of The BEACON Project.

Erin Sanders-Sigmon
National Deaf Interpreters

Erin Sanders-Sigmon is “Facilitator of Humanities” for the National Deaf Interpreters advocacy organization. Ms. Sanders-Sigmon is a game changer, mentor, deaf & DeafBlind multilingual Interpreter, transliterator, writer, consultant, abolitionist, and survivor of ZOOM Culture. She believes in 360* views, ALL Justices, especially Language, Disability, Transformative, Restorative, Social, and Racial Justice.  Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Ms. Sanders-Sigmon's lifelong aim is to dismantle all hierarchies, and while uplifting the underrepresented, underserved, also influencing those in a position of privilege. The mission? To unite and create a just environment and spaces that are fully accessible for all walks of life, in the plethora of settings that exist in our current milieu, and finally, passing on that legacy. A just legacy that is sustainable... until the end of time.

Tim Frandy
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Nordic Studies, University of British Columbia

Tim Frandy is a Sámi- and Finnish-American born and raised on Anishinaabe Aki on the south shore of Gitchi-Gami (Lake Superior) amidst the region’s thousands of lakes and forests of pine, birch, maple, and balsam. Growing up in close relation with the woods and waters, the seasons and weather, and the plants and animals has guided Frandy’s work, in exploring how ecological worldview differs between settler and Indigenous communities—and the profound ways that these differences matter in securing sustainable futures for Indigenous peoples. Frandy’s work involves traditional culture, decolonization, environments, education, and cultural revitalization, and they have conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Indigenous reindeer herders, salmon fishermen, birchbark canoe builders, ceremonial leaders, musicians, artists, activists, educators, and culture keepers.

Frandy’s recent translation of Inari Sámi Folklore: Stories from Aanaar (2019) is the first polyvocal anthology of Sámi oral tradition ever published in English, and their co-edited volume with B. Marcus Cederström on public folklore praxis Culture Work: Folklore for the Public Good (2022) explores the importance of public arts and humanities projects today, and the best practices for a rapidly changing area of community-engaged work. Frandy is currently working on a monograph on Sámi environmentalisms, and on a co-edited volume with Selina Morales on decolonization and folklore studies.