People

Aubrey Hall (MA 2014) is the Victim Advocate for USF – St. Petersburg campus. Working from an empowerment framework she supports survivors of crime, trauma, and abuse in their academic endeavors and path(s) to healing. As a violence preventionist, she has provided technical support and consultation to administrators of higher education on a local, state-wide, and national level. Aubrey is also an adjunct faculty member of Saint Leo University where she facilitates classes centered on wellness and social issues.

My name is Aurelie Colon Larrauri (She/they) and I graduated in 2018 with a Women and Gender Studies degree. With the help of WGS, specifically their internship class, Dr. Wendland helped me find an internship with an organization I greatly admired: Planned Parenthood. Two days after graduating, I was working my first job as an organizer for a political campaign. Never in my wildest years did I think that I would find a job so quickly after graduating. But with the tools given to me and all that I’ve learned from incredible classes, such as Careers and Professionalism in WGS, I’ve been incredibly privileged to work in my field and turn all that theory I’ve learned into practice. After working the 2018 gubernatorial cycle, I was asked to come in to interview for an organizer position. I worked there for two and a half years. After working at such an incredible organization, I am now the statewide policy advocate for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. As Dr. Golombisky put so eloquently once to our class at the time, I am a professional feminist. And you can be, too :) if you have any questions or if you’d like to connect, you can email me.

Dr. Elan Pavlinich obtained the WGS Graduate Certificate in 2015, and earned a Ph.D. in English Literature from USF in the summer of 2019, and is now Assistant Professor of English at Wabash College. Dr. Pavlinich was profiled in the WGS Newsletter.

"My principal research interests include Old English and Middle English literature, with particular interests in authority, women’s and LGBTQ+ theory and interpretation, space and place, and medievalisms.

My current research project, Queer Authority in Old and Middle English Literature, argues that select early English texts queer normative authorizing conventions to authorize Old English and Middle English literatures. During the European Middle Ages, Latin cultures and literatures were privileged with authority that extended to and subverted the cultural capital of the inhabitants of England at the edge of the known Western world. I identify four exceptional English texts that employ authorizing conventions to disrupt normative networks of power that traditionally privilege Latin and to authorize English literature instead. Analyzing the mechanisms by which cultural authority is constructed, I locate women, queer individuals, and same-sex desires early in the English literary heritage. My work recognizes inclusion already present in English literary canons while enhancing women’s and LGBTQ+ histories.

I have also published a series of film reviews and journal articles on postmedieval constructions of the Middle Ages, including two pieces in the premier journal for postmedieval representations of the Middle Ages, Studies in Medievalism. Disney films cite medieval material culture, such as manuscripts and castles, to authorize narratives located in the Middle Ages. The medieval past that is represented within recent Disney productions, including Maleficent, Sofia the First, and Elena of Avalor, direct audiences back to Disney as an authorized source for medieval narratives. I argue, generally, that contemporary Disney productions reify patriarchal forces under the veneer of feminism, continuing to limit the roles of women and people of color despite historical evidence that records a more inclusive medieval England." 

Samantha Heuwagen graduated from USF with her MA in Women’s and Gender Studies in 2014 and currently works as a sex therapist in her own private practice. She does talk therapy with individuals, couples, and families and while most of her cases are within the sex therapy realm, she also does work with clients struggling with anxiety, depression, and helps them navigate healthy relationships. She is also the author of the Starlight Series of books. Samantha was profiled in the WGS Newsletter.

Dr. Zoe D. Fine is an educator, author, and researcher. She earned her PhD in Communication, concentrations in language and social interaction as well as rhetoric, and MA in Women's and Gender Studies, concentration in disability studies, at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, USA. Prior to that, she earned her BA in Women's Studies, summa cum laude, and minor in French Language and Literature at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She has taught, published, and presented scholarship across the United States and internationally about topics including communication, terrorism, gender, rhetoric, identity, discourse, radicalization, pedagogy, feminism, disability, education, intersectionality, and diversity.

Saron Musa graduated from USF in May, 2019 with a double major in Women’s and Gender Studies and International Studies, and a minor in Economics. She started law school at Emory University in Atlanta in fall of 2019, and plans to work as a lawyer in the public sector, specifi cally in matters related to immigration. Saron was profiled in the WGS Newsletter.

Tunisia Riley graduated with her MA in women’s and gender studies in 2009, and is currently a Digital Strategy Senior Associate with the New York Life Insurance Company. Tunisia was profiled in the WGS Newsletter.

Azure Samuels (MA 2015, BA 2013) has accepted a position with George Washington University as the Senior Education Specialist in the Office of Student Opportunities for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The OSO offers professional development, advising, programs, and resources that enrich students’ experiences beyond the classroom and exposes them to various concentrations of study, such as Global Health, Health Policy, and Community Medicine. Among Azure's first projects, she is creating a workshop series that teaches medical professionals how to identify the signs of domestic violence during patient evaluations and is collaborating with other GW departments to create a scholarly concentration focused on women's healthcare.

During Azure's interview, the director stated that Azure stood out because of her Master's in Women's and Gender Studies. The OSO was seeking someone that was knowledgeable about the issues that underrepresented and marginalized communities faced and would be able to create and implement programs focused on social justice in healthcare.

Brittany King (BA 2014) reports that she is putting her WGS degree to good use in her at Redefining Refuge. She works as an advocate for human trafficking survivors, and while the work is sometimes difficult, she finds it rewarding. Brittany also holds membership in L.I.F.T., Ladies Influencing their Future Today. Her long term plan is to return to school to pursue a Masters in clinical social work.

Layne Gregory, BA 2013, currently works for WUSF Public Media on the USF Campus, as the Sustainer Program Manager, overseeing approximately 10,000 monthly donors who support both WUSF, the local NPR Station, and Classical WSMR, Florida’s only all classical music radio station. Previously, she spent 7 ½ years at Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, working in member recruitment, volunteer management, and fundraising.

"My WGS degree has been essential in allowing me to develop the persuasion and advocacy skills to promote the importance and value of the different organizations I’ve worked for and as a fundraiser, to encourage the community to continue to financially support these organizations."

MC Whitlock (MA 2012) completed a doctoral degree in Sociology at the University of South Florida and is now Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of North Georgia.