The Commission
Steering Team
Carlos Alamo-Pastrana
Dean of the College and Professor of Sociology
Mita Choudhury
Chair and Professor of History
Diane Harriford
Director of Africana Studies and Professor of Sociology
Jonathon Kahn
Director of Engaged Pluralism and Professor of Religion
Ron Patkus
Head of Special Collections, College Historian, and Adjunct Associate Professor of History
Selena Hughes
Engaged Pluralism Program Administrator
Broader Commission
- Monica Vachher, President of the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College
- Deb Bucher, Head of Collections & Discovery, Vassar Libraries
- Melanie Maksin, Head of Academic Engagement, Vassar Libraries
- Wendy Maragh Taylor, Associate Dean of the College for Student Growth and Engagement
- Rick Jones, Laboratory Coordinator and Collections Manager, Dept of Earth Science & Geography and Native American Advisory Committee
- Traci Francis, Vassar Student Association Chair of Equity and Inclusion
- Ashanti Shih, Assistant Professor of History and Asian American Studies
- Eréndira Rueda, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Latin American and Latinx Studies
- Molly McGlennan, Professor of English, Native American Studies, American Studies
- Mallorie Whiteduck, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Native American Studies
- Kirsten Wesselhoeft, Assistant Professor of Religion and Women, Feminism, and Queer Studies
- Leslie Offutt, Representative from Vassar Emeriti Faculty
- Dan Elliott, Officer, Vassar College Safety and Security, Chair - HVSSOU Local #526, representative from union members at Vassar
- Danielle Aguilar, Security Officer, Chief Shop Steward, for the SPFPA Local #526, representative from union members at Vassar
- Carmen McGill, Co-Founder and Board Chair of Celebrating the African Spirit, representative from Poughkeepsie community
- Josh Schreier, Professor of History and Jewish Studies, faculty representative from Jewish Studies
- Amanda Munroe, Director of Restorative Practices for Engaged Pluralism
- Mariam Eshetu and Evelyn Silva, Chairs of the Council of ALANA Seniors
- Jessica Brier, Curator of Photography, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
External Advisors
- Andrew Delbanco, President of the Teagle Foundation
- Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University
- Sarah Barringer Gordon ’82, Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania
- Bill Jeffway, Executive Director of the Dutchess County Historical Society
- Mike Kelly, Head of Archives and Special Collections at Amherst College