Trent Jackson (they/them; moderator)

Trent began their career in Arizona in research and development for cancer diagnostic equipment, focused on reliability. Changing tracks after a few years, they moved to a larger city and began working in software quality assurance. When the company relocated to Cookeville, Tennessee, Trent decided to come along and see what a new horizon could bring.

Tennessee has represented an unforeseeably large amount of growth and self-discovery for Trent. They joined the planning committee for BoroPride, got married, and found comfort in their gender identity. Diagnosed multiply neurodivergent in early 2023, Trent has been learning all they can over the past year about what this means for them.

Trent is autistic, disabled, gay, trans non-binary, and they are excited to work with experts to share and discuss the intersection of LGBTQ+ identity and neurodiversity at this year’s conference.

Katie Munday (they/them)

Katie Munday is a multiply neurodivergent advocate and consultant demystifying neurodivergent experiences. They are involved in several research projects in the charity sector on Disabled and gender diverse people’s experiences of inequity in cancer services. They have spoken at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer around their research findings. They have an MRes in Humanities and Social Sciences, in which they collected and shared the stories of gender diverse Autistic adults to co-create recommendations for future research. They have also published on the experiences of Autistic gender diverse adults in seeking gender identity healthcare (https://autisticltd.co.uk/2023/06/16/exploring-the-experiences-of-autistic-transgender-and-non-binary-adults-in-seeking-gender-identity-healthcare-plain-language-summary/). Katie is Autistic, Disabled, trans and queer. (Katie Munday Aucademy page link: https://aucademy.co.uk/katie-munday-they-them/; David Gray-Hammond & Katie Munday on Neuroqueer: Gender Identity and Autistic Embodiment link: https://emergentdivergence.com/2022/07/19/neuroqueer-gender-identity-and-autistic-embodiment/)

Jillian DeGrie (she/they)

Jillian DeGrie is a multimedia artist pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at MTSU. DeGrie is queer, neurodivergent and disabled. They have several years of experience combining their personal experiences with modern scientific research to create art about these topics. DeGrie’s art focuses on how stigma and discrimination affect members of minority groups. Their largest and most recent project was a solo show called Breaking the Stigma Around Autism: An Interactive Art Exhibition, which will be on display at this year’s conference. More info about this exhibition as well as a digital gallery can be found at https://jilliandegrieillustration.square.site/thesis-exhibition

Kirk Aldave (he/they)

Kirk Aldave is a freshman at MTSU pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. He enjoys animals of all types, especially birds, and wishes to do work involving them in the future. While animals are a part of him, Kirk is also an aspiring artist and voice actor who wishes to experience the industries. Kirk learned to express himself through various art forms like music, writing and drawing. He enjoys experimenting with his interests and wishes to learn how to better his practices in art. To him, animals and art have been a big part of Kirk’s life, and he wishes to find a way to work with both in the future.

Kirk is a neurodivergent and queer and grew up mainly in Nashville, TN. Despite being unsure of where his career path will take him, Kirk hopes to learn from the community of MTSU and find his way in life.

Kathlene Smith (she/her)

Kathlene Smith has been a Manager of DEI for Nissan Group of the Americas for two years, promoting into the role after joining the organization in 2020. Kathlene came out as neuroqueer for the first time professionally in this role, due to the demonstrated inclusion and sense of belonging created by the executive team. Kathlene holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English, and prior to joining Nissan spent 15 years in healthcare data analysis and administration.

Kristen West (she/her; moderator)

Kristen West, associate professor at Walker Library and Chair of the User Services Department, has been a librarian at MTSU since 2007. Her work includes providing information literacy instruction to MTSU students in the library, in online courses, and through the library’s Web site. Her articles have appeared in several professional publications, including College & Undergraduate Libraries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in information science from the University of North Texas. Kristen is the library liaison for faculty and students in Criminal Justice Administration, Health and Human Performance, and Nutrition and Food Science. Her research interests include information literacy and recreational reading in academic libraries.

Dr. Poushali Bhadury (she/her)

Dr. Poushali Bhadury is an Assistant Professor at the Department of English, MTSU. She specializes in international and comparative Children’s and Adolescent Literature, as well as comics and graphic novels, book history, and postcolonial literature. Her current book project, The Home and the World in Postcolonial Print Culture: Dev Sahitya Kutir and Bengali Children’s Publishing (1940-1975) explores mid-20th century pulp series fiction for Indian youth readers. An active researcher, Dr. Bhadury regularly presents at academic conferences, publishes articles in peer-reviewed journals and collections in her field of study, and has been awarded several research grants. Recently, she has enjoyed curating the #VeryAsian Foundation’s Asian American Youth Literature list, aka the May Book Project, as well as serving on the Metadata Advising Committee for a multi-institution IMLS grant for the Diverse Bookfinder website, enhancing the discoverability of middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) novels featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC) characters. Dr. Bhadury is passionate about advocating for LGBTQ+ youth through her teaching and research: she has designed and taught an MTSU English upper-division undergraduate course on queer YA literature, published on queer women in South Asian comics, and is currently researching LGBTQ+ desi YA fiction from both South Asia as well as its global diaspora.

Jordan Nielsen (they/them)

Jordan Nielsen has been an academic librarian for more than a decade, and they are currently serving as the Inclusion & Education Librarian and an Associate Professor in the James E. Walker (JEWL) Library at Middle Tennessee State University. In this role, Jordan coordinates the Library’s belonging and engagement initiatives in an effort to foster a more inclusive environment for everyone who uses the JEWL. Jordan also serves as the JEWL’s liaison to the College of Education where they support the research, teaching, and learning efforts of the faculty and students. Additionally, Jordan oversees the JEWL’s Curriculum Collection unit which provides access to a variety of resources related to K-12 education, including young adult, graphic novel, and non-fiction collections. Jordan’s research focuses on inclusive hiring in academic libraries, and their most recent publications include the research paper, “Inclusive Hiring in Academic Libraries: Attitudes and Reflections of Search Committee Members” and the forthcoming book they co-edited, Toward Inclusive Academic Librarian Hiring Practices.

Dr. C. Rebecca Oldham (she/her)

Rebecca Oldham, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) and affiliate faculty of Women’s and Gender Studies at MTSU. Her research expertise is in romantic relationship development, sexual behaviors, violence in intimate relationships, and masculinity. Since 2015, she has taught various courses on healthy relationships, communication, and family violence (e.g., child abuse, intimate partner violence). Her background in HDFS emphasizes a lifespan development perspective and the importance of societal contexts in promoting healthy relationships and sexuality across diverse populations. As an academic, Dr. Oldham serves on committees for the National Council on Family Relations and the International Association for Relationship Research. As an instructor and community member, Dr. Oldham values the wisdom and expanded impact of collaborating with community partners who are helping families dealing with family violence every day. She and her students work with local non-profits that serve families vulnerable to trauma, abuse, and economic insecurity such as the Child Advocacy Center, The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center, The Family Center, and the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence.

Ken Paulson (he/him)

Ken Paulson is the director of the Free Speech Center and dean emeritus of MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment. He is also the former editor-in-chief of USA TODAY and remains a columnist on USA TODAY’s board of contributors, writing about media and First Amendment issues. Paulson is a former president of the American Society of News Editors, the nation’s largest organization of news-media leaders. Paulson also was the host of the Emmy-honored television program "Speaking Freely," seen in more than 60 PBS affiliate markets nationwide over five seasons.

Steve Sullivan (he/him)

Steve Sullivan is an elected member of Smyrna Town Council and serves as chair of the Rutherford County Library System Board. He has been a resident of Smyrna for 31 years and is a graduate of Smyrna High School. He attended Trevecca Nazarene University and graduated with a BA in Management and Human Relations and a Master’s in Business Administration. He is a former United States Marine where he served in the infantry, and he is a Veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Mr. Sullivan has been in IT Management for 20 years, and currently works for Nissan as an IS Manager. He has served as President of Smyrna Adult Softball League and has been a Parks Athletic Committee member for nine years. He also served as a board member and coach for the Smyrna Girls Softball, Fast-pitch, Soccer, and Baseball youth leagues at various times over the last 15+ years. Mr. Sullivan and his family are active members of World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.

Special thanks to panel organizer Jason Vance (he/him), Professor/Information Literacy Librarian, Middle Tennessee State University James E. Walker Library.

William Langston (he/him; moderator)

Dr. William Langston is a psychology professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Langston is the faculty advisor for MTSU Lambda Association (MTSU’s all-inclusive LGBTQ+ student organization). Dr. Langston is also a member of MTSU’s Community Engagement Advisory Group. Dr. Langston organizes the LGBT Plus College Conference and is a founding board member of Murfreesboro’s BoroPride celebration. Dr. Langston was recently selected as one of Focus Middle Tennessee’s 40 Over 40 in Middle Tennessee. Dr. Langston received his BA in psychology from the University of Houston in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994. Dr. Langston has been a professor at MTSU since 1997 and specializes in teaching research methodology and cognition. Dr. Langston’s research explores the psychology of belief. As part of his research program, Dr. Langston is a ghost investigator and has visited some of the most haunted places in the country. In his spare time, Dr. Langston enjoys stand-up comedy and can routinely be seen bombing at local open mics.

Patrick R. Grzanka (he/him)

Patrick R. Grzanka is Professor of Psychology and the inaugural Divisional Dean for Social Sciences at the University of Tennessee’s flagship campus in Knoxville. He is President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI.org) and directs the Social Action Research Team at UT (socialactionrt.org). An award-winning scholar-teacher-activist, his work on social issues including reproductive justice has been published widely and supported by funding from the National Science Foundation. For the past decade, he has collaborated with Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (TAPP) and the Tennessee Equality Project on a range of projects that explore the consequences of harmful legislation on the lives of structurally vulnerable Tennesseans, especially youth and emerging adults, pregnancy-capable people, and LGBT+ individuals. Before joining the faculty at UT, Grzanka taught at Arizona State University (2010-2014); he earned his B.A. (2004) and Ph.D. (2010) from the University of Maryland. He proudly serves on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi and is currently Board Chair of TAPP.

Francie Hunt (she/her)

Francie Hunt is the Executive Director of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, the advocacy and political arm for Planned Parenthood in Tennessee working to support community organizations across Tennessee to protect and defend the rights for LGBTQ+ individuals, including the Black Organizing Program, Raiz, Generation Action, and the Youth Organizing Program. She was the previous director with Stand for Children. She was one of the organizers of the Power Together March in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington in January 2017, 2018, and 2019. Francie served on the Nashville Public library board and Walk Bike Nashville. She serves on Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Executive Committee of the State Public Affairs Network and their national election scenario planning committee. Francie walked across the state of Tennessee in protest and pilgrimage for bodily autonomy.

Theodore Baker (he/him)

Theodore Baker is a Youth Organizing Fellow for Rutherford County with Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. He is a Senior at Middle Tennessee State University and will graduate in August with a B.S. in Political Science.

As a student specializing in Pre-Law and Women's and Gender Studies - Theodore has specialized in learning more about how LGBTQ individual's rights have and have not been protected through the courts and legislature. As an organizer, he is happy to be part of the multidimensional advocacy needed to ensure change. Through his civic engagement work, Theodore has focused on connecting with the Rising American Electorate, to uplift voices that are often drowned out. He spends a considerable amount of time connecting and organizing on campus - especially through the MTSU Generation Action Chapter.

Antoine Dandridge (he/him)

Antoine Dandridge is a third-generation organizer! He grew up at the helm of his grandparents, rural West Tennessee civil rights and healthcare activists, the late Square and Wilola Morman. He is also the founder of the B.L.A.C.K Organizer Program and fellowship, commonly known as “Black Lifestyle Advocates for Culture and Knowledge,” a constituency program of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi (PPTNM). Serving the reproductive-rights community for nearly a decade, Antoine filled the missing gap of an equitable space at PPTNM to innovate a new era of Black engagement within Tennessee’s deep south’s affiliate’s external affairs programs. PPTNM Black Org Program acts as the liaison of all PPTNM constituencies through amplifying the “call to action” for continuous reproductive justice and health equity via: education, storytelling, social engagement, direct action and peer accountability.

During his personal time, Antoine dibbles his hands in acting (film and theater), social media rants, eating good food, documentaries and spending quality time with his friends and family. Many people often see him as the life of the party, but Antoine affectionately enjoys being around positive vibes and celebrating life whenever possible! Today, Antoine is most excited about creating new moments with his partner, his dog Brooklyn (of 14 years) and being an uncle to a new generation of great nephews and (great) niece!

In the future, Antoine seeks to evolve his passions into a media brand and campaign strategist to unite Black and Brown professional organizers. In the meantime, Antoine will continue to challenge the social norms that commonly create the chaos that often divert southern voters from achievable equity and people power!

Special thanks to panel organizer Roberta Chevrette (she/her), Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at Middle Tennessee State University.

William Langston (he/him; moderator)

Dr. William Langston is a psychology professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Langston is the faculty advisor for MTSU Lambda Association (MTSU’s all-inclusive LGBTQ+ student organization). Dr. Langston is also a member of MTSU’s Community Engagement Advisory Group. Dr. Langston organizes the LGBT Plus College Conference and is a founding board member of Murfreesboro’s BoroPride celebration. Dr. Langston was recently selected as one of Focus Middle Tennessee’s 40 Over 40 in Middle Tennessee. Dr. Langston received his BA in psychology from the University of Houston in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994. Dr. Langston has been a professor at MTSU since 1997 and specializes in teaching research methodology and cognition. Dr. Langston’s research explores the psychology of belief. As part of his research program, Dr. Langston is a ghost investigator and has visited some of the most haunted places in the country. In his spare time, Dr. Langston enjoys stand-up comedy and can routinely be seen bombing at local open mics.

María C. González (she/her/ella)

María C. González is currently the Martha Gano Houstoun Research Professor in Literary Criticism.  The author of Contemporary Mexican American Women Novelists: Toward a Feminist Identity and co-editor of Voices Breaking Boundaries’ three volume series collection of transnational art and essays, Borderlines, she is past President of the National Women's Studies Association, past Chair of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies, and one of the founders of the GLBT Studies Minor and the LGBT Resource Center at the University of Houston.

Dr. William Langston is a psychology professor at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Langston is the faculty advisor for MTSU Lambda Association (MTSU’s all-inclusive LGBTQ+ student organization). Dr. Langston is also a member of MTSU’s Community Engagement Advisory Group. Dr. Langston organizes the LGBT Plus College Conference and is a founding board member of Murfreesboro’s BoroPride celebration. Dr. Langston was recently selected as one of Focus Middle Tennessee’s 40 Over 40 in Middle Tennessee. Dr. Langston received his BA in psychology from the University of Houston in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994. Dr. Langston has been a professor at MTSU since 1997 and specializes in teaching research methodology and cognition. Dr. Langston’s research explores the psychology of belief. As part of his research program, Dr. Langston is a ghost investigator and has visited some of the most haunted places in the country. In his spare time, Dr. Langston enjoys stand-up comedy and can routinely be seen bombing at local open mics.

Kayla Gore  (she/her)

Kayla Gore works to help organize and conduct direct outreach and to advocate for the rights of women, especially transgender women. Kayla’s most recent work is with the #tinyhouseprojectMSH with the goal of developing homes for Black and Brown Trans Women. Project details can be found on the MSH website, www.mshmemphis.org.

Justin Reed (he/him)

Justin Reed serves as the Director of Student Unions at Middle Tennessee State University and is this year’s Conference Advisory Board Chair. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Wesley Foundation and works to create inclusive environments both on and off Campus.

Heather Mae, the acclaimed social justice singer-songwriter, fearlessly bares her soul through music, creating an intimate space of shared vulnerability for her listeners. Her unbridled honesty, both on and off stage, has cultivated a devoted fanbase. In her 2019 release, "Glimmer," Heather Mae crafts a luminescent masterpiece, drawing parallels to vocal powerhouses Adele and Sara Bareilles. With storytelling depth reminiscent of Florence Welch, the record uniquely centers on mental health. In 2023, she spearheaded a transformative movement, rallying a powerhouse collective of women and non-binary talents in Nashville, including luminaries like producer ZDAN and Lollies, along with guest artists like Grammy Award-winning musician Allison Russell and the extraordinary duo Sistastrings. Together, they crafted two electrifying albums. Leading the charge in queer songwriting, Heather Mae is poised to make a resounding impact with both groundbreaking records slated for release in 2024.

Michelle Conceison is a manager, professor, researcher, and community organizer. She is a tenured Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University, where she serves as Chair of the Recording Industry Department in the College of Media and Entertainment and teaches Music Business courses. She founded Nashville-based artist management and marketing firm Mmgt. She works with Kyshona, Della Mae and the Guy Clark estate, and her company serves many clients. She is global Chair of Mentorship for Women in Music, and runs professional development programs for multiple music organizations. Prior to music, she worked in digital media, leading teams at multiple global advertising agencies. She has served on the boards of Folk Alliance International (former President), International Bluegrass Music Association (former Secretary), Women In Music (founding Nashville Chapter Chair). She is a member of Leadership Music (2024) and Leadership Bluegrass (2019). Her fields of research include public history, LGBT+ and gender studies, change making, audience and industry stakeholder analysis, representation in media, merchandising, and leadership in music organizations.