Tara Leininger (she/her) is a University of Illinois alumna, current administrative staff member at Brown University, and cat mom. With an academic background in Classics and History and professional experience in museum collections, event planning, and student affairs administration, she is passionate about all forms of public engagement and hopes to learn more about how to responsibly engage with historical and cultural artifacts to spark meaningful dialogue. Tara is very grateful to join the Public Humanities program and looks forward to opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and friendship.

Caleigh Lyons grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts and this past spring graduated from Oberlin College majoring in English, and Cinema and Media Studies, and minoring in Gender Sexuality and Feminist Studies. At Oberlin she was introduced to the public humanities by participating in an oral history project in which local Indigenous people shared what it meant to be Indigenous today. This experience taught her that she want to spend her time helping to share untold stories and fighting for social justice.

Ivie Orobaton graduated from the College of William & Mary with a double major in History and Anthropology. Her historical training was on African American and European history in the 18th and 19th centuries. Her anthropological training was in Biological Anthropology with a concentration in infectious disease. She was worked in the museum world for five years in various positions across the Smithsonian. Her first role was a Research and Exhibition Specialist at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the global traveling exhibition, In Slavery’s Wake. She is currently serving as the inaugural Human Dignity Coordinator at the National Museum of Natural History.

Jovanna Walker was born and raised in Boston, MA, and received her B.A. in Sociology and History from George Washington University in 2024. During her time at GW, she specialized in the study of African diasporic social movements. She is particularly interested in the ideology of Pan-Africanism and how its principles are communicated to members of the global Black community. Upon graduation, she was a visitor assistant at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, where she learned more about the importance of accessible educational programming in museums and the necessity for justice-affirming cultural institutions.

Alijah Webb holds a double B.A. in Anthropology and Art & Art History (with a concentration in Critical Curatorial Studies) from the College of William and Mary. As the Program Associate at the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), she helped manage five distinct grant programs dedicated to supporting experimental artists across disciplines. Prior to FCA she worked as an Art Educator, prioritizing inquiry-based learning, and culturally responsive pedagogical practices while serving elementary-aged students in Brooklyn, NY. As an independent curator, she presented two exhibitions, “Dreams and Nightmares” (2019) and “Phosphene” (2017) while working toward her undergraduate degree. 

Her artistic practice is rooted in diaristic zinemaking, which she began as a teenager in rural Virginia. She later hosted “Never Too Much” on Radio Free Brooklyn for three years, which explored the relationship between media and personal catharsis. During this time, she also organized monthly community events in Brooklyn, fostering spaces for creative expression and dialogue. In 2023, she co-founded Perennial Mag, a digital zine where she writes and publishes work that reflects her lived experiences, embracing the messiness, sweetness, and discomfort.

Jun Ying Wen was born in southern China. She recently graduated from the University of Toronto, where she studied English and Peace, Conflict, and Justice. She is concerned with the medium of narrative and intent on putting her knowledge into practice in curatorial and editorial settings, as well as in public policy more generally. As a poet and writer, her work can be found in Acta Victoriana and Empty House Press, among other places.