Editorial Board

Sousan Arafeh,

Founding Editor

Sousan Arafeh, PhD is a Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies and Director of the Integrated Justice & Social Change Collaborative at Southern Connecticut State University. She is also Principal of Research Images, an educational research and policy consultancy serving regional, national, and international clients since 2000. Creating connections among people, ideas, disciplines, or technologies is a core value as well as finding wonder in every person and every moment. Dr. Arafeh is primarily a qualitative researcher interested in how the macro (policy, funding efforts, and social structures) and micro (intra- and inter-personal interaction and stories) shape each other and our daily experiences. She is dedicated to fostering positive social change by supporting educators transitioning into administrative roles and engaging with community members and organizations that strive to elevate their work and impact.

Angela Frusciante,

Founding Editor

Angela K. Frusciante, PhD is principal of Knowledge Designs to Change, an equity-focused research and strategy practice that supports changemakers. As a socio-political scholar, Angela brings over twenty years of experience working in social science inquiry within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Angela is a vetted member of the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers and an alumna of the Council on Foundations Career Pathways program. She has been a long-term scholar contributor to The Foundation Review, the first peer-reviewed journal of philanthropic practice. Angela serves on the national planning team of the Urban Research Based Action Network and chairs URBAN Connecticut, a regional collaborative that brings together changemakers working on knowledge building in community, university, and foundation settings. Angela believes in the power of the social sector to influence change and has an enduring curiosity for how people activate equity through shared meaning making.

Joan Weir,

Founding Editor

Joan Weir is an assistant professor in the Special Education Department at Southern Connecticut State University. She is a member of the selection committee for the Malka Penn Award through the Dodd Center at the University of Connecticut. It is an award for children’s literature that highlights areas of social justice. Her primary research is on increasing educational outcomes for Deaf/Hard of hearing students. 

Clarence McFerren II,

Associate Editor for Arts

Dr. McFerren, a Memphis native with nearly two decades of education experience, is the Assistant Director of the Teacher Preparation Program at the University of California, Merced. Committed to fostering inclusivity, he empowers aspiring educators for lifelong learning and leadership, emphasizing hands-on experiences and cutting-edge methods to navigate the dynamic educational landscape. Recognizing educators’ impact, Dr. McFerren guides the program to cultivate culturally responsive teachers focused on social-emotional learning and wellness. He is a a former district-level administrator, unapologetically advocates for equitable access to creative arts and early childhood education. His research focuses on qualitative methods, explicitly addressing Black male teachers’ retention and belonging and the professional relationships between educational leaders and marginalized populations. Specializing in arts education, Dr. McFerren champions interdisciplinary, inquiry, and project-based learning and is known for his TEDx Talk, “Mental Liberation through Dance,” addressing mental health stigma.

Marian Evans

Dr. Marian Evans is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health and affiliated faculty in the Department of Women & Gender Studies at Southern Connecticut State University. She has over 18 years of teaching experience with numerous local, regional, national and international publications and peer-reviewed conference presentations A Connecticut Health Foundation Health Leadership Fellow (2007), Community Leadership Program fellow of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund (2016), with numerous Faculty-led study abroad programs (Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Barbados). Dr. Evans’ teaching and research interests are women’s health, environmental health, health disparities, scholarship of teaching and learning, academic and public partnerships, public health practice, and women in higher education.

Elizabeth Rhoades

Elizabeth “Libby” Kelley Rhoades, PhD, NCSP, is a faculty member in the School Psychology Program at SCSU. Over the last 25 years she has worked to design new school psychology programs and to help existing programs with accreditation. Her professional interests include creating supportive schools that foster resiliency in LGBTQ youth and children living in poverty, adolescent addiction, and using technology to increase access to postsecondary education for underserved communities. She has been active in social justice causes since her childhood in Charlotte, NC where she attended the first school system in the country with court-ordered busing to achieve full desegregation. A graduate of Winthrop University, Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Rhoades lives with her husband, Matt and a house full of “rescues.d” She loves animals, reading, science fiction and Starbucks!

Danielle Campbell

Danielle Campbell is a graduate student in the Women’s & Gender Studies (WGS) program at Southern Connecticut State University and works in the WGS Office and the Interfaith Center out of the DEI Office. She has a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science and Journalism and another Master’s in Sociology. Her passions are social justice, disability rights, and mental health advocacy. She has been a powerful voice on Southern’s campus and continues to advocate for the student body and the marginalized. Her passion for community building and collaboration brought her to contribute to the creation of the JCEC.

Yasmina Lingane

Yasmina Lingane received her BA in Psychology from the University of Connecticut and is now serving in the Peace Corps as an English Learning Teacher in Togo, West Africa. She is looking forward to sharing the collaborative practices and experiences she is encountering during her service abroad. Yasmina is a strong advocate for proactive action, collaboration, diversity, kindness, integrity, community and, most importantly, education; which she has lived into through her roles centered around program management for community outreach and impact at UCONN and Southern. She prides herself on bringing genuine passion and interest into every room she steps into. Her eagerness to learn and understand not only her experience but the experiences of others has led her to be who she is today. A very engaging and well-rounded young woman, she is a true asset to our board.

Kerry Kincy

Kerry Kincy is an artist with a strong commitment to bringing expressive arts into communities, most notably in underserved and invisible populations not traditionally served by arts organizations. She is also a consultant and works collaboratively with organizations and institutions exploring cultural dynamics in support of positive change. Kerry’s work centers on enhancing the well-being of individuals within their community cultures. She is the Founder and Director of CNTR, an arts/culture/wellness center that cultivates, recognizes, and explores shared cultures. In 2021, Kerry was named a Connecticut Arts Hero, is a Wesleyan University Community Fellow, and was awarded the NAACP, Middlesex County, Annette B. Ward Community Service Award for her contributions. She is a Board Member of Hygienic Arts.

Bekisizwe Ndimande

Dr. Bekisizwe S. Ndimande is a Professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching and Faculty Associate in the Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Texas San Antonio. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Ndimande’s lines of research inquiry focuses on curriculum studies, education policy, multicultural education, and international comparative studies. Currently, Dr. Ndimande is the editor of the Critical Studies in Education journal.

Cythia Rojas

Cynthia Rojas, PhD is the co-principal of Rojas Blakely & Associates, a consulting firm that focuses on evaluation, research, organizational development, and leadership training and coaching. Cynthia has worked in the nonprofit sector for 15 years, received her Masters in Research Methods from Hunter College in NYC and her doctorate in Leadership from Southeastern University in Florida. She now serves as a consultant to nonprofit organizations focused on economic development and the elimination of poverty. A passionate and enthusiastic storyteller, Cynthia teaches storytelling as a leadership tool to new and promising leaders. Individuals who work with Cynthia learn the power of a great story very quickly. Cynthia brings a combination of academic training, analytical training, her expertise in organizational development and the arts. She loves to make the theoretical practical, the analytical simple, and use storytelling as a tool that bonds humanity.