Undergraduate Alumni

Tiara Harris (’11 B.A.) has recently been appointed Head Data Collector for the Power through Choices project at Planned Parenthood of Maryland in Baltimore.

Carly Wade (’10 B.A. Women’s Studies and Psychology) works at the Crossroads Youth Opportunity Center as a hybrid Referral Specialist and Intensive Case Manager. She is also pursuing a Master’s in Social Work degree at the University of Maryland-Baltimore, focusing on Families and Children

Erin Lester (’08 B.A. Women’s Studies and American Studies) is attending Harvard Law School.

Miranda Vargas (’08 B.A.) is a Resident Associate at DASH, the District Alliance for Safe Housing. She is prominently featured in Dash’s promotional video.

Anna Martine Whitehead (’06 Black Women’s Studies Minor) received her Masters of Fine Arts from the California College of the Arts in 2010 and spring 2011 was as an artist in residence at Hambidge in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia. Anna Martine has shown and performed at numerous galleries, theatres, and backyards in the Bay Area and beyond (including Southern Exposure, Climate Theatre, SOMArts, and CounterPULSE in San Francisco, the Bronx Museum and Gallery, The High Museum in Atlanta, and galleri bob in Gothenburg, Sweden). Her work with Jesse Hewit/Strong Behavior recently garnered a Goldie Award in performing arts from the SF Bay Guardian, and her collaborative work has been noted in the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Times, and LA Weekly. Anna Martine’s work uses video, puppets, sound, and movement to address queer, deracinated, disremembered histories.

Jenny Barry (’05 B.A.) works for Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir in Mexico City. She writes: “My organization oversees a national network of Catholic youth that do a lot of activities around LGBT rights.” In fall 2010 she traveled to Nigeria to speak at a meeting hosted by the Ford and MacArthur Foundations on youth sexual and reproductive rights discussing how the Mexican Ministry of Health has implemented youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services through collaboration with NGOs.

Amy Oden (’04 Certificate) is touring with her film, From the Back of the Room, a documentary that chronicles thirty years of female involvement in DIY punk.

Elke Chen (’03 B.A.) is a doctoral student in Organizational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Maryland College Park. Her work focuses on urban school reform, leadership for social justice and improving the educational experiences of LGBTQ youths and students with disabilities in inclusive settings.

Katherine Jean Taylor (’02 B.A.), who works on campus as Student Affairs Coordinator in the Office of Career Services and Alumni Relations, School of Public Policy, has just been appointed (fall 2011) to the university’s President’s Commission on Women’s Issues.

Laura Francis (’01 B.A.) is Legal Reporter for the Bureau of National Affairs in Washington, D.C.

Samantha Elena Erskine (’99 B.A. Women’s Studies and Psychology)  is the Director of Development of The Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), where she is responsible for creating and implementing corporate, foundation, government, and individual donor fundraising strategies to both maximize and diversify revenues. Prior to joining CUP, Samantha worked at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the Applied Research Center, and Legal Momentum. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Women’s History from Sarah Lawrence College.

Suzanne Marcus (’98 B.A.) is Deputy Director of DASH, the District Alliance for Safe Housing, a nonprofit that provides safe housing for victims of domestic violence in Washington, D.C.

UMD Women’s Studies alumni, please keep us informed of your news and whereabouts: womensstudies@umd.edu