Arts and Democracy Fellows | |
| Keith Thompson is assistant director of the dance program, associate professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre and the inaugural Arts and Democracy Faculty Fellow. Thompson is one of the nation’s most distinguished dance artists and is recognized for his role with Trisha Brown Dance Company, his company dance Tactics, his collaborations with Herberger Institute Professor Liz Lerman and him shifting of public vocabularies about dance. Professor Thompson thrives by seeking out challenges of discovery that takes place within the moment, compositionally and conceptually. Complex articulation of multiple pathways through and between spaces are a main focus. With a passionate investigation in dance and physical theater, Professor Thompson creates connections somewhere between abstraction and narrative within a global context for the viewer. This constant throughout Thompson's creative research aligns with the mission and work of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy. |
| Liz Lerman is an influential choreographer, performer, writer, educator and speaker. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship, 2002 MacArthur Genius Grant, 2011 United States Artists Ford Fellowship in Dance, 2017 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. She has been a Deutsch Fellow and in 2023 she was honored as a Dance Magazine Award winner. A key aspect of her artistry is opening her process to various publics from shipbuilders to physicists, construction workers to ballerinas, resulting in both research and outcomes that are participatory, relevant, urgent, and usable by others. She founded Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 1976 and cultivated the company's unique multi-generational ensemble into a leading force in contemporary dance until 2011. She was an artist-in-residence and visiting lecturer at Harvard University in 2011, and her acclaimed work, "Healing Wars," toured across the US in 2014-15. Lerman conducts residencies on Critical Response Process, creative research, the intersection of art and science, and the building of narrative within dance performance at such institutions as Harvard University, Yale School of Drama, Wesleyan University, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the National Theatre Studio, among others. Her collection of essays, "Hiking the Horizontal: Field Notes from a Choreographer, was published in 2011 by Wesleyan University Press and released in paperback in 2014. In 2016, Lerman was named the first Institute Professor at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, where she is building a new ensemble lab focused on creative research. |
| Adam Collis is a filmmaker and film professor at the ASU Sidney Poitier New American Film School. He loves making movies, teaching, and helping his students and former students advance in their careers. Months after graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Collis directed the 20th Century Fox feature, Sunset Strip, starring Simon Baker (The Mentalist) and Oscar-winner Jared Leto. Since then, he has produced and directed a variety of shorts, documentaries, and features. After earning an MBA and learning how to finance features, Collis produced and directed Car Dogs, starring Patrick J Adams (Suits), George Lopez, Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer. The production gave 85 ASU students the opportunity to learn filmmaking on a working set from an Oscar winning cast and crew. Collis, who joined the faculty at ASU in 2009, is the founder of the industry relations / professional development program, ASU Film Spark, which has connected students with hundreds of top Film & TV creatives and executives including 6 Oscar-winners, 6 Oscar-nominees, 8 studio chiefs, the Presidents of AMPAS and the DGA, as well as dozens of industry executives, blockbuster producers, A-list department heads, and award-winning directors. Hundreds of students benefited from Film Spark’s master classes, special screenings, job fairs and career bootcamps. Collis, who has created one-of-a-kind opportunities for students to learn from world class filmmakers, teaches "Welcome to Hollywood" in which film production students learn how to understand and appreciate the entertainment supply chain and business ecosystem that surrounds and supports them. Collis has several features and series in various stages of development and looks forward to bringing his students, past and present, onto these shows. |
| Joanna De'Shay is a Faculty Associate in the ASU/FIDM Fashion School. Born in Accra, Ghana, on the Western Coast of Africa to a Nigerian father and a Russian mother, she grew up heavily influenced by the exotic people, cultures, and textures of her majestic homeland. She holds an MFA in Fashion Design and a Master's in Management. She is the Creative Director and Designer for Black Russian Label, a women's contemporary clothing brand which, since its founding in 2013, has focused on the global, chic woman who is unapologetic, bold, and empowered by her style. De'Shay has received numerous awards, including the 2018 MLK Living the Dream Award and the 2020 Outstanding Women in Business award presented by the Phoenix Business Journal and in 2021, she was named one of the top Non-profit Executives to watch. De'Shay is a passionate entrepreneur who believes in being a part of the solution. |
| Ilana Luna is Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Arizona State University. She is a writer, translator, scholar and cultural promoter whose books include Adapting Gender: Mexican Feminisms from Literature to Film (2018) and the co-edition/ translation of Carlos Monsiváis’s feminist writings, with Norma Klahn, Fatefully, Faithfully Feminist: A Critical History of Women, Patriarchy, and Mexican National Discourse (2024). Her translation of Judith Santopietro’s Tiawanaku: Poems from the Madre Coqa (2019) was a 2020 Sarah Maguire Poetry-in-Translation Prize finalist in the UK. Recent books in translation include Juan José Rodinás’s Koan: Underwater (2018) and Giancarlo Huapaya’s Sub Verse Workshop (2020). Luna has served on the director’s board of Phoenix-based bilingual poetry press Cardboard House Press since 2016, and joined their editorial board in 2023. Along with Mexican poet and Cultural Attaché to the Mexican Consulate in San Diego, Gaspar Orozco, whose work she translates, Luna has coordinated the “Central de poesía” for the LéaLA: The Universidad de Guadalajara’s Spanish Language book fair in Los Angeles since 2021. In 2023, Luna was a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow in Translation for her co-translation of Cristina Rivera Garza’s poetry, with Cheyla Samuelson. |
| Sumana Sen Mandala is a Bharata-Nrityam artist and disciple of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam. She teaches in studio settings as well as higher education. Sumana holds an MFA in Dance. She has been a faculty associate at ASU's School of Music, Dance & Theater, is an ASU Gammage Teaching Artist, trained racial justice facilitator, Co-Director of the Critical Response Process (CRP) Certification Program, and Director of Dansense-Nrtyabodha. She is steeped in research to (1) re-examine the meaning of tradition in dances of India and its value for dance practitioners in contemporary US contexts and (2) to investigate the relationship between belonging and community justice. Mandala focuses on the concept of rasa—deep engagement—to center collective knowledge, the value of every voice, and responsibility and response in any space she enters. In her current projects, Sumana explores the physicality of nritya (expressive dance) in Bharata-Nrityam to facilitate dialogue and collaborative works around hushed narratives, such as intimate partner violence and menstrual health. She has published articles on critical pedagogy and belonging and presented her work at several conferences. Mandala received the 2024 Katherine Lindholm-Lane Award for Arizona Dance Educator of the Year. Her work is supported by various organizations, including the National Dance Education Organization and Arizona Commission on the Arts. |
Impact Arizona Fellows | |
 L. Andrea Brownlee, PhD | L. Andrea Brownlee, PhD is an educator with over two decades of teaching and administrative experience in universities, community colleges and K-12 schools. Before becoming an educator, he was a civil engineer and he worked for almost 8 years designing and building infrastructure projects and systems. Currently, a faculty member in the Maricopa County Community College District, he teaches courses in Education Studies, Applied Technology, and Cultural Studies. He is an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University and teaches courses in African American studies and Ethnic studies. Dr. Brownlee has attended and graduated from all three Arizona state schools and earned his doctorate from the University of Arizona. For his work promoting equity in education and building community, he earned the Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania and the Diversity Advisory Council Award from Estrella Mountain Community College. He sits on the Education Committee for the Diverse Leadership Alliance, and he is a member of the Association for Career Technical Education of Arizona where he has presented his work in supporting Black students in community college over the last four years. |
Khalil Rushdan | Khalil Rushdan is a dedicated advocate and leader in Arizona’s reentry community. Wrongfully convicted of a 1997 murder, Khalil served 15 and a half years before his conviction was overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct, leading to his release in December 2011. Since then, he has been a passionate advocate for wrongful conviction awareness and systemic change, focusing on reentry resources, transitional mentoring, employment training, and housing. As founder of the AZ Village Network, Khalil works to remove barriers for justice-involved individuals and serves as a mentor, consultant, and ally to legal, non-profit, and private sector organizations, fostering second chances and stronger communities.l plan to use this fellowship year to bring more awareness to the drivers of mass incarceration in Arizona, provide leadership opportunities to other formerly incarcerated individuals and expand entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals upon reentry. As a CSRD Community Fellow, Khalil Rushdan looks forward to the opportunities for collaboration with CSRD on addressing laws, policies or practices that create inhumane conditions in communities of color. |
