Past Forward

Damien M. Sojoyner is an Urban Anthropologist with a diasporic framework at the University of California, Irvine. He teaches graduate courses in Black Political Theory, Prisons in the United States, and Black Ethnography in the Anthropological Imagination. He teaches undergraduate courses on Prisons and Public Education and Urban Ethnography in the United States. He has published one book entitled First Strike: Educational Enclosures of Black Los Angeles (University of Minnesota Press, 2016), and numerous journal articles for publications including the Berkeley Review of Education, Black California Dreamin', Transforming Anthropology, and Race, Ethnicity and Education.

Dr. Sabina Vaught is a Professor and Inaugural Chair of the new Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading. Dr. Vaught was most recently at The Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington, where she was a scholar-in-residence working on two major book projects. Prior, she was chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma’s (OU) Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, where she collaborated to establish the Indigenous Education focus, found the Carceral Studies Consortium, and build the Women and Girls Across Gender Initiative. Before her time at OU, Dr. Vaught was a faculty member at Tufts University, where she served as Director of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Africana Studies, and Educational Studies, and Chair of the Department of Education. She was also Co-Chair of the board for a nine-university consortium housed at MIT: the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality.

Dr. Vaught’s research considers carcerality and liberatory knowledge movements broadly and the race-gender labor and conquest relationships among schools, prisons, and insurgent communities specifically. In her scholarly work, Dr. Vaught draws on a constellation of knowledge traditions that help make sense of insurgent and counterinsurgent movements: feminisms, the Black radical tradition, Indigenous studies, and legal studies/Critical Race Theory.

Listen to Damien M. Sojoyner and Dr. Sabina Vaught's lecture at chapman.edu/wilkinson.

Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race is a ten-part podcast series of informed and enriching dialogues to help us better understand our world – how we got here, who we are, and where we are going as a society. This series engages in conversations with scholars, artists, filmmakers, and activists to investigate racial inequality, systemic racism, racial terrorism, and racial justice and reconciliation. Through education, art, and storytelling, we can all learn to be allies and engage the world to help evolve to a place of compassion and social equity.

Guest: Damien M. Sojoyner and Dr. Sabina Vaught
Host: Jon-Barrett Ingels
Produced by Public Podcasting in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.

Jeffrey Lo is a Filipino-American playwright and director based in the Bay Area. He is the recipient of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artist Award, the Emerging Artist Laureate by Arts Council Silicon Valley and Theatre Bay Area Director's TITAN Award. Selected directing credits include The Language Archive and The Santaland Diaries at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Vietgone at Capital Stage, A Doll’s House, Part 2 and Eurydice at Palo Alto Players (TBA Awards finalist for Best Direction), Peter and the Starcatcher and Noises Off at Hillbarn Theatre, The Grapes of Wrath, The Crucible and Yellow Face at Los Altos Stage Company and Uncle Vanya at the Pear Theatre (BATCC award for Best Production). As a playwright, his plays have been produced and workshopped at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, The BindleStiff Studio, City Lights Theatre Company and Custom Made Theatre Company. Jeffrey has also worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and The Asian American International Film Festival. In addition to his work in theatre he works as an educator and advocate for issues of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and has served as a grant panelist for the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Silicon Valley Creates and Theatre Bay Area. He is the Director Community Partnerships and Casting Director at the Tony Award Winning TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.

Jeanne Sakata’s solo play HOLD THESE TRUTHS has won accolades in over twenty productions across the country, most recently at the Cultch Theatre in Vancouver, Barrington Stage Company, Arena Stage, San Diego Repertory, the Guthrie Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, and ACT Seattle (Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Solo Performance; Theatre Bay Awards for Outstanding Lead Performance, Direction and Production). Jeanne just finished a new radio play, FOR US ALL, commissioned by LA TheatreWorks, which will premiere in winter 2021. She has also enjoyed recent recurring/guest star TV and film roles in the internationally acclaimed indie film ADVANTAGEOUS, STATION 19, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL: THE SERIES, NCIS LOS ANGELES, BIG HERO 6, and DR. KEN, and has performed onstage at such theaters as  the Vineyard Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Kennedy Center, Public Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep and East West Players (Theatre LA Ovation Award, Outstanding Lead Actress, RED by Chay Yew), and many more. 

Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams is a freelancing set designer based in NYC. Her design work has been seen Off Broadway at the Primary Stages, Working Theater, Epic Theater Ensemble, INTAR, EST, and National Asian American Theatre Company. Regional theatres at Guthrie Theatre, Arena Stage, Barkley Repertory Theatre, the Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Playmakers Repertory Company, ACT Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera, the Shed among others. In Japan her work has been seen at the Umeda Arts Theatre, Nissay Theatre, Nissay Opera, Nikikai Opera, Suntory Hall, Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, Kanagawa Prefectural Hall and Biwako Hall. As an associate scenic designer, Broadway credits include My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof and The King and I.  Currently, she is a teaching at  Yale School of Drama.is a freelancing set designer based in NYC. Her design work has been seen Off Broadway at the Primary Stages, Working Theater, Epic Theater Ensemble, INTAR, EST, and National Asian American Theatre Company. Regional theatres at Guthrie Theatre, Arena Stage, Barkley Repertory Theatre, the Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare festival, Long Wharf Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Playmakers Repertory Company, ACT Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera, the Shed among others. In Japan her work has been seen at the Umeda Arts Theatre, Nissay Theatre, Nissay Opera, Nikikai Opera, Suntory Hall, Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, Kanagawa Prefectural Hall and Biwako Hall. As an associate scenic designer, Broadway credits include My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof and The King and I.  Currently, she is a teaching at  Yale School of Drama.

Learn more about the TheatreWorks Silicon Valley at theatreworks.org.

Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.

Guests: Jeffrey Lo, Jeanne Sakata, and Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams
Hosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle Strickland
Produced by: Public Podcasting

Kelechi (Kay Kay) Uchendu is the founder and CEO of Kay Kay’s World, LLC. Kay Kay’s World, LLC includes Kay Kay’s Fashion (a fashion brand that has been featured in British Vogue and other media outlets) and her website Kay Kay’s Way, www.kaykaysway.com. Kay Kay graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Political Science Pre-Law and a specialization in Environmental Studies in 2013. She then graduated from Vermont Law School with her JD in 2016 and her LLM in 2018. Kay Kay also has a Master’s degree in Business of Fashion from LIM College. A cool fact about Kay Kay is that before the age of 22, she had been to every continent (including Antarctica).

Bully Friends
Emerald Publishers, 2020

A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.

Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Susan Jane Gilman is the author of five books: The novels “Donna Has Left the Building” and “The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street,” plus the memoirs “Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven,” “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress” and “Kiss My Tiara.” She has been a commentator for NPR and written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Ms. magazine, among others. Though she lives in Geneva, Switzerland, she remains, eternally, a child of New York.”

Donna Has Left the Building
Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group, 2020

A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.

Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Natalie Nascenzi is a copywriter, poet, and author from Rhode Island. Now residing in New York City, you can find her every morning on the East River capturing the sun peeping over the horizon. The rest of her day is spent wandering the city, chasing the sun, and writing wherever she can. Writing is both her career and passion. Her love for the art of word play and rhyming has led her to a career in marketing and in her life as a poet. She has made an impression on New York City's open mic community with her infectious personality and a unique writing style. From 'Out of Chaos' to now, Natalie has spread her message of hope and transformation; and is excited to continue the journey with readers through "The Aftermath of Unrest."

The Aftermath of Unrest
Natalie Nascenzi, 2020

A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.

Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Jerry Van Leeuwen is a native Californian. He was born in Artesia. His father, an immigrant from Holland, was a dairy farmer and Jerry’s first real employment was milking cows for his dad in Chino, CA at the age of 15. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California in 1972 and a Masters of Administration from the University of California, Riverside in 1975. Jerry began a career in local government by working for the City of Chino Police Department as a guidance counselor moving into a management position in 1978. He left the City of Chino to accept the position of Assistant Director of Community Services in Escondido in January 1987. He retired from the City of Escondido in December 2012. In June 2013 Jerry accepted the position of Executive Director for the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. In that role he oversees the Center’s operations that include 3 theaters, a visual arts museum, art education programs and a full service conference center.

Beth Solomon Marino is proud to serve as the Associate Director of Museum and Visual Arts at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Design with an emphasis in Furniture Design & Construction in 1999 from San Diego State University. In 2007, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Exhibition Design and a Certificate in Museum Studies from California State University, Fullerton. Beth strongly believes that exposure to art and exhibitions, of all types, can stimulate the imagination and foster creativity. Displaying engaging collections that are shared by a broad community encourages people to discover and learn together; opening a door that helps us to communicate our feelings, perspectives and values. Insight into cultures other than our own provides us with knowledge and helps us understand our global community and ourselves more deeply.

Mikee Ferran began working in museums as a program assistant for the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street program at Utah Humanities in 2016. This experience (and an internship at a contemporary folk art museum) provided invaluable hands-on training in the museum field. She currently works as the Museum Exhibition and Visual Arts Supervisor at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Mikee is passionate about advocating for museums and the work that supports these institutions. Accessibility, transparency, and opportunity are the foundations of her personal work philosophy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Westminster College in History and a Master’s degree from the University of Utah in American History. She currently serves on the board of San Diego Emerging Museum Professionals as the Programming Co-Chair. 

Learn more about the California Center for the Arts Escondido at artcenter.org.

Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.

Guests: Jerry Van Leeuwen, Beth Solomon Marino, and Mikee Ferran
Hosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle Strickland
Produced by: Public Podcasting

Richard L. Rose is a Richmond writer and composer, whose eighth opera, Monte & Pinky, was performed at the Black History Museum of Virginia in April 2018. Rose is also the author of Frameshifts, a book of stories and poems in two volumes (2011).

PushBack
Atmosphere Press, 2021

A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.

Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Nathan Dean Talamantez is a Bay Area transplant from Texas, Air Force veteran, and current student pursuant of his MFA from California Institute of Integral Studies. Dean received his undergraduate in cultural anthropology in 2013 from Texas State University. His writing tends toward the examination of complex social issues from unfamiliar and often surreal angles.

Sacred Fool
Atmosphere Press, 2021

A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.

Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Martha Ackroyd Curtis is an Australian writer, and artist. She works in the realms of video, installation and multi- mediums. Her work consists of large-scale installation art, which is formulated through cohesive conceptual design. She has exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas, and participated in various art festivals.

Hello Titty
Busy Bird Publishing, 2020

A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.

Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Natasha Mynhier is a director, editor, and cinematographer based in Los Angeles. As a director, Natasha's accolades include winning Gold at the 2020 Young Directors Awards for her film In A Beat, and being featured at the 2017 Voice of a Women Festival: Cannes and the 2018 Utah Dance Film Festival for her dance films.

She began writing In a Beat two years ago when she was inspired by a close friend's story of resilience. But her interest in the arts began during her time as a professional dancer. At age 17, she founded 37 Laines, LLC, an entertainment production company, through which she created a variety of content, including a sold-out full length dance play.

During her senior year, at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she garnered her first major promotional series through a contest where her script earned her the opportunity to write and produce commercials for MD Anderson Cancer Center in collaboration with AT&T and IBM Watson. After graduating, she relocated to LA where she joined forces with cinematographer Jeff Hammerton to run 37 Laines. Together they create content for brands like Netflix, Marvel, ESPN, and Vogue. Through this process they have built out a team of over twenty diverse filmmakers who collaborate on their projects from pre-production to post.

In 2019, after years of prepping with practice short films and scene studies, they took on their first narrative, In A Beat. They look forward to making many more projects that bring together their passions for entertainment and social awareness.

Chloe Arnold is an Emmy Nominated Choreographer, and international tap star. A leading lady of tap, Chloe has performed on stages on staged around the globe and her choreography has been featured in over 50 episodes of The Late Late Show With James Corden.

Chloe is the Artistic director and founder of The Syncopated Ladies, a Female Tap Dance Band based in Los Angeles, CA.  Their fierce footwork and feminine style have attracted audiences around the globe with their cutting edge viral video.

Chloe is a female entrepreneur that holds a degree from Columbia University. She and her sister co-founded Chloe and Maud Productions and the DC Tap festival and Co-produced the award-winning documentary Tap World. Chloe’s work can be seen on countless television shows and film. 

Listen to Natasha and Chloe's lecture at chapman.edu/wilkinson.

Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race is a ten-part podcast series of informed and enriching dialogues to help us better understand our world – how we got here, who we are, and where we are going as a society. This series engages in conversations with scholars, artists, filmmakers, and activists to investigate racial inequality, systemic racism, racial terrorism, and racial justice and reconciliation. Through education, art, and storytelling, we can all learn to be allies and engage the world to help evolve to a place of compassion and social equity.

Guest: Natasha Mynhier and Chloe Arnold
Host: Jon-Barrett Ingels
Produced by Public Podcasting in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.