Dr. Roselyn Costantino is Associate Professor of Spanish and Women's Studies and 2011 Fulbright Scholar at La Universidad del Valle, Guatemala. She received her M.A. from Montclair State University (1988) in Spanish Peninsular Literature with a focus on 19th-century Spanish and Latin American narrative, and her Ph.D. from Arizona State University (1992) in Spanish with specialization in Latin American theatre and narrative; Latin American Studies; and Women's Studies.
Her areas of specialization include Feminist Theory; Performance Studies; Rape in War; Violence against women and femicide in Guatemala; Latin American Writers, Playwrights, and Performance Artists; Latin American and Latina Women in creativity and resistance; Latin American Studies. Her most recent publications include Holy Terrors: Latin American Women Perform (co-edited with Diana Taylor. Duke UP, 2003); "Guatemaltecas Have Not Forgotten: From Victims of Sexual Violence to Architects of Empowerment in Guatemala" in Rape: Instrument of War and Genocide, Eds. John Roth, Carol Rittner; Femicide, Impunity, and Citizenship: The Old and The New in the Struggle for Justice in Guatemala (Chicana/Latina Studies 6.1 Fall 2006); "Politics and Culture in a Diva's Diversion"; "Youth Movements in Mexico: Indigenous Youth of the Zapatista Rebellion"; and "Preserving the American Way of Life." She is completing a manuscript, "There are many ways to kill a woman": Structural Deformities, Femicide, and Transformative Collaboration in Guatemala's Narrative of Extreme Gendered Violence. She is a member of the Altoona College Arts and Humanities faculty; Women's Studies Faculty; and the University Graduate faculty.

Mary G. De Jong received her Ph.D. in literature from the University of South Carolina. She has published many articles on American literature and culture, including four on the composition and performance of hymns and three on poet Frances S. Osgood's literary romance with Edgar Allan Poe. Her research interests and teaching now center on gender issues, especially in women's writing. Co-editor of "Popular Nineteenth-Century American Women's Writing and the Literary Marketplace" (2007), she is now co-editing "Sentimentalism Revisited: Emotions, Relationships, and Practices in Nineteenth-Century American Literature." Also in progress is a study of the letters exchanged by two antebellum American women reformers.

Lee Ann De Reus is an Associate Professor of Human Development & Family Studies and Women Studies at Pennsylvania State University-Altoona and the co-founder/assistant executive director of Panzi Foundation USA (www.panzifoundation.org). As a scholar-activist, she travels regularly to Panzi Hospital in eastern DR Congo to conduct research, develop programs for rape survivors, and inform her advocacy work in the U.S. She leads an annual field experience for PSU students to Rwanda and co-founded Beza Kids (www.bezakids.org) in support of vulnerable women and children there. Dr. De Reus is a 2009 Carl Wilkens Fellow and the recipient of numerous awards from Penn State University including the prestigious George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Spirit of Internationalization Award given in honor of her commitment to global service and outreach. She leads the Genocide Relief Project, a local community-based anti-genocide advocacy, education and aid organization and she is a featured activist in John Prendergast's book, "The Enough Moment: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes." A frequent guest speaker about the crisis in the DRC, her 2013 TEDxPSU talk, "Daring to Make a Difference for Congo" can be found at www.tedxpsu.com. For more information, visit www.leeanndereus.com or follow her on Twitter at @LADeReus or @PanziUSA.

Brooke Heidenreich Findley, Assistant Professor of French and Women's studies, earned her Ph.D. from Duke University. Her research specialty is in medieval literature, with a strong secondary interest in feminist theory and a particular focus on portrayals of medieval women. She is currently working on a book entitled "Poet Heroines in Medieval French Narrative: Gender and Fictions of Literary Creation." She teaches French language, literature and culture, medieval literature, and Women's Studies.

Julia Hudson-Richards, assistant professor of
history, earned her doctorate from the University of
Arizona. Her dissertation is entitled "The Orange
Proletariat: Social Relations in the Pais Valenciano,
1860-1939," and her research interests include
Modern European History, Comparative World
History, and Comparative Gender. She previously
served as adjunct professor in the Department of
Humanities and Human Sciences at Point Park
University.

Karyn D. McKinney, Associate Professor of Sociology, holds a BS in Political Science from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Florida. Her research has focused on the role of race and racism in identity and experience. Her publications include "Being White: Stories of Race and Racism" (Routledge, 2005), "Middle Eastern Lives in America" (with Amir Marvasti, Rowman and Littlefield, 2004) and "The Many Costs of Racism" (with Joe Feagin, Rowman and Littlefield, 2003). In addition, she has published articles in journals such as "The Indiana Law Review" (2001), "Race and Society" (2004) and "Social Identities" (2006). Chapters by McKinney have appeared in "White Out" (Routledge, 2003, with Joe Feagin), and "Race in the College Classroom" (Rutgers University Press, 2002). McKinney's current research explores the meanings of masculinity for men of various racial and ethnic groups. Dr. McKinney teaches courses focused on social inequalities in race, class and gender, giving attention to the intersectionality of these statuses in individual lives.

Lee Peterson received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College in creative writing and her BA from Oberlin College in women's studies and English literature. Her poetic, research, and community interests center around issues of human rights, the experiences of women and girls in wartime, and trauma and recovery. She has published and presented her work widely and taught at the graduate, undergraduate and community college level. In 2004, Peterson held the position of Emerging Writer in Residence at Penn State Altoona, where she is now Instructor of English, teaching in the areas of academic, creative writing, literature, and women's studies. She also tutors students individually as the campus Writing Specialist.

Dr. Seymour teaches a broad array of courses which involve media, anthropology, gender studies, history, and culture. Her expertise in Middle Eastern culture has been featured in recent media coverage and in academic presentations. Before coming to Penn State Altoona, she served as Managing Editor of “Egypt’s Insight,” a monthly magazine, and Chief Operating Officer of the Pinnacle Group, an import/export firm, both based in Cairo, Egypt. She also served as Vice President of Marketing and Distribution for Founoon, an Egyptian Media Consortium. Prior to that she was Assistant Site Director of James Madison University’s Archaeological Research Center. She has published a book chapter in a text entitled “Bruce Springsteen and the American Soul: Essays on the Songs and Influence of a Cultural Icon” (McFarland, 2011). She has been a strong advocate for international study and currently serves as Penn State Altoona’s Interim Education Abroad Coordinator. She has been active in the Faculty Senate at the University and College levels. Dr. Seymour has earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Binghamton University.

Megan Simpson received her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. She has an M.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in literature/creative writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Simpson is the author of "Poetic Epistemologies: Gender and Knowing in Women's Language-Oriented Writing." Her teaching and research interests include African American literature, multiethnic literatures of the U.S., poetry, women writers, and literary theory.