The WGSS Advisory Committee

Newson-Horst, Adele- Dr. Newson-Horst is the Coordinator of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Morgan State University.  She earned the B.A. from Spelman College, the M.A. from Eastern Michigan University, and the Ph.D. from Michigan State University.  Her areas of expertise include Women Writers of Africa and the Diaspora.   She has written about Nawal El Saadawi, Zee Edgell, and Zora Neale Hurston, among others.  She also has a keen interest in composition studies and AI in the composition classroom. 

Adamo, Gregory - Retired Professor, School of Global Journalism and Communication Gregory Adamo, Ph.D., is Professor (retired) in the School of Global Journalism & Communication at Morgan State University in Baltimore. He is the author of the book African Americans in Television: Behind the Scenes (Peter Lang, 2010) and co-editor of College Media: Learning in Action (Peter Lang, 2017.) He has also published a number of book chapters, the most recent, “When the Majority Lecturer Is in the Minority” in Teaching Race Struggles, Strategies, and Scholarship for the Mass Communication Classroom. (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021.) Dr. Adamo was Head of the Entertainment Studies Interest Group of AEJMC in 2019-2020. His research interests include media and race, the production of culture, and entertainment television. He has taught at The College of Staten Island/CUNY, Rutgers University, and Richard Stockton College. Dr. Adamo was General Manager of WSIA-FM for more than two decades.

Brice, Ashton - Ashton Ryan Brice is a doctoral student in the Department of English and Language Arts at Morgan State University where she is the current Graduate School Ambassador for the Department, and a member of the Graduate Student Association Executive Board. She earned her bachelor's degree in English and Language Arts from Fayetteville State University in 2021 with a concentration in Creative and Professional Writing, and her master's degree in English and African American Literature in 2023 from North Carolina A&T State University. Her research interests are Womanism, Postcolonialism, and 20th-century Black women's writers.

Brunson, Daniel - Dr. Brunson has taught in the Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies at Morgan State University since 2010. His recent research combines contemporary advances in Disability Studies and the Philosophy of Disability with a re-evaluation of Classical American Pragmatism in its broader historical context. He has taught a variety of courses in the history of philosophy, as well as special topics courses in Ethics and the Law, Environmental Ethics, Philosophy of the Body, Philosophy of Love and Sex, Philosophy of Science, and Philosophy of Technology. 

Elkhoury, Krystal- Krystal Elkhoury is a detail-oriented writer, editor, and professor with extensive experience in digital and print communications, specializing in elevating voice and brand. She possesses strong writing, editing, and design skills, focused on gathering, synthesizing, and conveying information. Alongside managing social media and website presence, she has created proposals, reports, newsletters, and press releases while ensuring accuracy and adherence to style guidelines. As a collaborative team member, she has developed communications products for special events and is committed to delivering high-quality materials. Her interests include feminist theory and minority representation in literature; women and gender studies; women, gender, and sexuality in Mediterranean mythology and religion; creative writing; academic English writing/composition; Ancient Greek and Roman history, literature, and theater.

Foxworth, Inara - Foxworth, Inara – She is a Senior Sociology Major with expertise with historical research, literary analysis, and anthropology. Her communities of interest are black and queer people. Having interest in both academia and the applications outside, she hopes to challenge systems that disadvantage black queer people

Haroun, Abiola – Abby Haroun is a seasoned Deaf chemist, writer, editor, poet, artist, fashion designer, and philanthropist. She serves on the Board of Trustees for the Andrew Foster Foundation aimed at enhancing the education of underprivileged Deaf children in Africa, and she is also one of the Board Directors of the Open Circle Hive, a collective of disabled artists dedicated to improving accessibility in the visual arts. Besides her advocacy work, Abby is a published poet who has been featured by the Academy of American Poets in its Poem-A-Day series for her poem “Identity Voodoo.” Her other poems are included in Deaf American Anthology and Deaf American Prose, both published by Gallaudet University Press. From October 2024 – March 2025, Abby’s poetry was displayed in The Guggenheim Museum’s Ekphrasis in the Air visual exhibition. Recently, she received the 2025 Women Leading Baltimore Award and was recognized by the Mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, for her altruistic work in the Baltimore Deaf community.

Hershaw Davis Jr., DNP, MBA, RN - is a nursing leader, educator, and advocate who serves as the Associate Director for the Morgan State University Department of Nursing. In this role, he provides strategic leadership, fosters academic excellence, and supports faculty and students in advancing nursing education. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, further broadening his impact on nursing education. Previously, he served for seven years as a faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) in the Department of Organizational Systems and  Adult Health, mentoring and training future entry into practice nurses. His teaching career began as an adjunct clinical instructor at both UMSON and Morgan State University, where he honed his pedagogical skills and shared his clinical expertise. Before stepping into his leadership role, he also served as an adjunct professor of practice at Morgan State University.With a steadfast commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and health equity, he served on the University of Maryland, Baltimore Diversity Advisory Council and plays a pivotal role as Chair and Co-Chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Advisory Council and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee at the Emergency Nurses Association. Additionally, he is a member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Council for Mental Health Advocacy Steering Committee. His research focuses on mental health issues, particularly within marginalized and minoritized populations such as LGBTQIA+ community.

Jarrett, Denise M.– Dr. Jarrett, is an Associate Professor in the English and Language Arts Department at Morgan State University. She has special interest in Caribbean Literature, Postcolonial Literature, Ethnic and Cultural Studies, Black Cultural Productions, Adolescence Literature, and Women and Gender Studies. Mainly using postcolonial readings, her scholarship publications include encyclopedia biographies, journal articles, and book chapters on Caribbean authors’ works. She is also a reviewer on Postcolonial and Ethnic and Cultural Studies for CHOICE and a peer reviewer for other literary organizations. Dr. Jarrett has an extensive record as chair and presenter on diverse Caribbean writers, themes, and theories as well as on Black women at several national and international conferences. At Morgan State, she currently serves as Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English.

Javadian, Golshan - Dr. Golshan Javadian is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Morgan State University, where she specializes in entrepreneurship and business research. With a Ph.D. in Business Administration, she has held leadership roles, including Interim Director of the Howard-PNC Center for Entrepreneurship and chair of AOM's entrepreneurship division Global Scholar Development committee. Her expertise spans evidence-based entrepreneurship, innovation, and scientific research methods, which she teaches at undergraduate, MBA, and Ph.D. levels. Dr. Javadian's contributions to the field have earned her numerous accolades, including The Dr. Iva G. Jones Medallion Emblem Award from Morgan State University, the Best Paper Award at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, and recognition as an Outstanding Reviewer in AOM's Entrepreneurship Division. Her research often explores gender and racial dynamics, entrepreneurial cognitions, and resilience among entrepreneurs. She previously served as an associate editor for the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship and currently holds the same role at the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship.

Johnson, Lori Nel- Dr. Johnson specializes in modern and contemporary art, particularly in the late nineteenth century. Before coming to Morgan, Dr. Johnson taught at the Corcoran School of Art and Design, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Colgate University. Her research focuses on the relationship between discourse and cultural practice with an emphasis on how art normalizes the operations of power through the representation of class, race, gender and sexuality. In her teaching and research, Dr. Johnson emphasizes how the hardening of gender and racial identities coincided with the rise of imperialism and high capitalism. Dr. Johnson is currently completing an essay for 19^th-Century Studies Journal on the African-American photographer J.P. Ball and his grand-daughter, Alice Ball, who invented the first-modern cure for leprosy. She is also investigating the shifting cultural meaning of the banjo at the turn of the twentieth as represented in the work of Henry Ossawa Tanner and Mary Cassatt. Dr. Johnson’s first book, which explores the evolution of artistic movement Symbolism in the United States by examining its influence on the work of Tanner, Meta Warrick Fuller, and F. Holland Day, entitled Blackness, Symbolism, and American Modernism: Class, Race, Gender, and Sexuality was published in April 2025 by Routledge Publishing.

Jones, Ida - Associate Director of Special Collections and University Archivist  Dr. Ida E. Jones serves as the Associate Director of Special Collections and University Archivist at Morgan State University. A noted professional archivist and historian, award-winning author, educator, and recognized leader in the field of African American women’s history. In her current position she oversees the university’s organizational records (archival repository), along with the institution’s holdings of rare books and manuscript collections. She successfully obtained three grants toward providing digital access to Morgan’s archival collections. One grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services elevates the remarkable career of Morgan professor Dr. Ellen Irene Diggs, a pioneering Anthropologist who worked closely with Dr. W.E.B. DuBois. Concurrently, Dr. Jones is providing archival consultation to on campus and community organizations to increase awareness about historical documentation. She currently serves as co-president of the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites and as a Board member the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center.

LaPorta, Lauren - Lauren LaPorta (she/her) is a queer educator, researcher, and DEI strategist with over a decade of experience in K–12 and higher education. A former public high school English teacher and AVID Coordinator in Baltimore, she has built a career rooted in advocacy, inclusive curriculum design, and youth-centered leadership. Currently serving in higher education and education consulting, she leads professional development on LGBTQIA+ inclusion, equitable instruction, and culturally responsive pedagogy. She received her MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Multicultural and Gender Studies here at Morgan. Lauren is committed to bridging theory and practice to advocate for policy reform, inclusive education, and amplifying and preserving marginalized narratives that have yet to be told. A creative thinker and coalition-builder, she blends academic inquiry with real-world impact to build more equitable, representative, and joyful learning environments.

Lindsey, Glenda – Dr. Glenda L. Lindsey is the recipient of the Outstanding Dietitian of the year 2018-2019 recognized by the Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as well as the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  Dr. Glenda Lindsey is a Professor of Practice at Morgan State University, Family and Consumer Sciences department. She taught nutrition (Introductory Food), Human Sexuality, Marriage and Family Relations, and Methods of Teaching Family and Consumer Sciences, Early Childhood Development, Parenting, entrepreneurship and research methods.  She was Co-Director of the Inspiration Factory, her individual and group nutritional counseling private practice business. In addition, under the Inspiration Factory, she has planned, implemented and facilitated two summer nutrition programs for urban teens. She served as The Public Policy Coordinator for the Executive Board of the Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Martin Jones, Vanessa - Dr. Vanessa Martin Jones is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Morgan State University. Dr. Martin Jones holds a DSW from University of Alabama, an MSW from New York University and a BS in Biology with a minor in Sexuality and Gender Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Bridging the gap between practitioner and researcher, she places a central emphasis on weaving black feminist thought, anti-racist and intersectional perspectives into her work. Moreover, she leads initiatives to decolonize developmental models, theories, and frameworks, ensuring the incorporation of culturally responsive strategies in exploring human behavior and identity.

McCree, DaJaneil - Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Allied Health (PAH) at the School of Community Health and Policy (SCHP). She is a behavioral scientist whose research focuses on health disparities, intimate partner violence (IPV), and HIV prevention among Black women and LGBTQIA+ communities. Dr. McCree completed her postdoctoral fellowship in trauma and violence at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, where she investigated the physical,sexual, and psychological effects of IPV on Black women living with HIV in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Her work explores the role of discriminatory healthcare experiences in shaping health outcomes for Black queer young cisgender women, examining how these inequities contribute to delays in care and increased HIV risk. With extensive research training in violence and infectious diseases among marginalized communities, Dr. McCree’s work advances the field of minority health and health disparities. Through her expertise in public health, she is committed to
driving systemic change by addressing the structural and social determinants that impact the well-being of historically underserved populations.

Maultsby, Jadon - Jadon Maultsby is a junior Sociology major with a minor in Women,Gender, and Sexuality Studies. His goal is to obtain a PhD in sociology with an emphasis on sexuality studies and teach as a professor. His areas of expertise are the following: sociology, anthropology, sexuality, gender, and political sociology.

Nitis, Maya – Dr. Maya Nitis serves as Assistant to the Dean and Assistant Director of the PhD Program at Morgan State University, where they teach Transdisciplinary Studies in the PhD Program in Architecture, Urban Planning and Built Environments. They also teach “Black Modern Political Thought” and “The Shape of Things,” in the Master’s of Liberal Arts Program at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Ntiis's transdisciplinary approach to critical theories is focused on the interrelation of feminist, queer and race-critical perspectives. Their monograph, Languages of Resistance 1: Performativity and Cultural-Political Translation, addresses the revolutionary aspect of the intertwinement of language and reality, primarily through the work of Judith Butler, Walter Benjamin and Audre Lorde. Their subsequent recently completed book length project, Minoritized Knowledges, examines the conception of partial knowledge as undermining dominant epistemology. In 2021, they received a Gender and Racial Justice Scholar Award, and a Dean’s Prize Fellowship for a class on “Critical Knowledges: Black, Feminist, Queer, Other.” They also publish on critical pedagogy, intersectional, queer desire and minoritized epistemologies in journals including diacritics, Feministische Studien and MLN, among others. 

Newark, Gregory, PhD-   Dr. Newmark is an Associate Professor in the Department of Design and Planning at Morgan State University. His research focuses on travel behavior to identify and address disparate experiences, particularly by race, ethnicity, and gender.

Okolo, Ruth - Amara Okolo is a writer and author of three books: Black Sparkle Romance, Son of Man, and Daughters of Salt. She is an alumna of Chimamanda Adichie’s Farafina Creative Writing Workshop and the Invisible Borders Trans African Project. She is a Fellow from the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, City of Asylum Residency, Oxbow and The Anderson Center. Her works have been supported by Pen America and United States Artists and nominated for the 2025 Pushcart Prize and the Best American Short Stories Anthology. Her works have been published on Chestnut Review, Joyland, Forge Lit Magazine, A Long House, Hunger Mountain, Catapult, Panorama Journal of Intelligent Travel, Commonwealth Writers and WeTransfer.

Oliver-Whitehurst, Sharon- Dr. Oliver-Whitehurst is the Divisional Budget Officer: Office of the Provost & Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Morgan State University and Chair of the University Council (2022-2025). Dr. Sharon Oliver-Whitehurst, the Divisional Budget Officer in the Office of the Provost at Morgan State University (MSU), brings over 25 years of experience in higher education and extensive knowledge of budgeting and finance. Her background and experience are diverse, with strengths in financial and administrative management, accounting, and auditing. Her ability to work effectively with multicultural people and her diplomatic sensitivities make her a valuable asset at all levels of management. Her leadership has earned her the respect and support of management, as evidenced by her receipt of the Staff Innovator of the Year Award in 2020. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Howard University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland, University College, and a Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus, which focused on TRANSFORMING HIGHER EDUCATION LEARNING MODALITIES. She is Quality Matter (QM) certified to teach online and design online classes, and she is also a QM Certified Peer Reviewer and QM Certified APPQMR Facilitator. She is also a member of the National Association of College and University Business (NACUBO) and the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA). She is dedicated to serving others in the community through Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and at Michigan State University (MSU). At MSU, she serves on numerous committees voluntarily. She is serving her third term as the first elected staff member and Chair of Morgan’s University Council. Additionally, she has demonstrated a commitment to serving others in the community by participating in existing service programs and initiating outreach initiatives as needed.

Saifuddin, Samina - Dr. Samina M. Saifuddin is an associate professor of management at the Department of Business Administration, Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. Previously, she was a tenured faculty member at the Department of Management, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr.Saifuddin received her doctoral degree in Management from Carleton University, Canada, in 2015, an MBA from Western Kentucky University, the USA, and a B. Com and M. Com in Management from Dhaka University, Bangladesh. Dr. Saifuddin’s research focuses on gender, equality and diversity, careers, leadership, networking behavior, and entrepreneurship. Issues related to gender and careers are paramount to her research orientation. Her research is interdisciplinary and draws from different areas of management (organizational behavior, human resources management, organization theory, and entrepreneurship) and cultural contexts (e.g., North America and South Asia). Dr. Saifuddin’s research has been published in academic journals, including European Management Journal, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, Gender in Management: An International Journal, and International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, Organization Management Journal, and Applied Management Journal. She has also authored book chapters in the Compendium of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Indices, and Research Handbook on New Frontiers of Equality and Diversity at Work. Her ongoing project involves leading an edited book on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity in Business in South Asia.

Dr. Saifuddin is an Associate Editor for Applied Management Journal. She is a track co-chair for Human Resource Management at the Eastern Academy of Management (EAM). She has served as a past chair of the Gender and Diversity in Organization (GDO) Division of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) and OB, Organizational Learning and Leadership at the International Association of Applied Management (IAAM).

Santucci, Elisa- Dr. Santucci studied philosophy in Italy, the UK, and Switzerland, and lived in Berlin for many years before moving to the US. His education has strongly been affected by materialistic traditions and deconstruction, as he pays great attention to textuality and slow reading, while also addressing social realities—trans studies in particular. With a PhD in Media and Communication from the European Graduate School and a PhD in German from Johns Hopkins University, Elisa joined Morgan State University as full-time lecturer in philosophy in Spring 2025 after a visiting-assistant professorship of German at Washington College in Fall 2024. Prior to these roles, he held a postdoctoral position with the Society of Fellows and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at JHU in 2022-2024, where he worked on trans studies. Elisa taught several courses at JHU and the Peabody Institute. A sample of his writings, academic and non, are available on his medium page.

Springer, Samuel - Is a performer, researcher, clinician, accompanist, and church musician. As a performer, Samuel has played concerts in England, the United States, and the Caribbean. Samuel has performed large-scale choral accompaniments in works such as the Duruflé Requiem and Vierne's Messe Solennelle with many choirs and choral groups. He has been a clinician at American Guild of Organists workshops. He has also contributed articles for journals such as Choir and Organ and Call To Worship. Samuel's current research focuses on the music of the Middle East and North Africa, the African diaspora, and the intersection of faith, culture, religion, and medicine in the music of the Caribbean and Latin America.  

Samuel studied at Trinity College of Music in London, the Yale School of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He has received many awards for organ performance and scholarships from Trinity College of Music, London; the Yale School of Music; the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Arts; and the Peabody Conservatory of Music. His teachers include Thomas Murray, Charles Krigbaum, Gerre Hancock, and Donald Sutherland. His previous appointments included Organist at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Assistant Organist at Yale Divinity School, and at Trinity-On-The-Green in New Haven. Samuel is the Minister of Music at Faith Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. He is a full-time music faculty member at Morgan State University and the Peabody Preparatory. He is a past music director for the Morgan State University Opera Workshop and an accompanist for the Morgan State Choir.   

Williams- Dockery, Patricia - Dr. Williams Dockery is a writer, playwright, scholar-activist, and international commentator, consulted for her expertise on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), social justice, and Black women’s intersectional experiences. A trans-disciplinary educator and artist, her play, Septima, about the life and work of civil rights organizing mastermind and revolutionary educator, Septima Poinsette Clark, premiered at Charleston’s Pure Theater in March 2023 and is currently on an east coast tour. Dr. Dockery is a Fulbright scholar and earned a BA in English from Fisk University, a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Dartmouth College, and a PhD in Anthropology from University of Illinois at Chicago. Amongst her publications include Teaching Daughters of the Dust as a Womanist Text and the Black Arts Aesthetics of Filmmaker of Julie Dash (Peter Lang Publishers, 2020), The State of Racial Disparities in Charleston County, South Carolina 2000-2015 (as co-author),  "A Voice in the Dark: Dr. Millicent E Brown—Race and Reality in Historic Charleston" in The Journal of Negro Education (2024), The South Carolina Black History Bugle ( as editor ), and Slavery and the African American Story which was published by Penguin Random House books for Young Readers in 2023. Penguin Random House will publish her forthcoming middle school books, Abolition and the African American Story (2025) and Civil Rights and the African American Story (2026).

Williams, Traci – a poet, fiction writer, playwright, lyricist, librettist, and screenwriter, is passionate about the power of words. She is an English Doctoral student and a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Morgan State University who is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Multicultural and Gender Studies. Her literary focus is Trauma Theory, specifically the psychological and cultural impact of trauma in African diasporic literature on its African-descended readers and their societies.  Traci also teaches at Anne Arundel Community College, the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), and served as Coordinator for CCBC’s Office of Intercultural Engagement (Essex campus). Most recently, Traci taught Introduction to Poetry at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women for Goucher College’s Prison Education Program. As a storyteller and activist, Traci, also known as Troi Justice. Among her creative accomplishments, Traci was named one of Massachusetts’ Best Emerging Poets in 2017. In 2020, her original play BOXES, which addresses colorism in the Black community and gender identity, was published in Caffé Cino Issue 3 (Moving Finger Press). In 2022, “Hamartia,” a chamber music piece addressing identity acceptance and mental health struggles within the LGBTQI2S+ community was performed by Creative Conscious in Philadelphia.