A look at women's organizing, consciousness-raising, and the social change that ensued in Durham and Chapel Hill
About the Researchers
Risa Isard
Risa Isard, a native of Phoenix, Arizona, has plans to graduate from Duke University in May 2012. A social change activist and a sports enthusiast/athlete, Risa created her own major (Program II) in the Cultural Anthropology department; it is called “Social Change at the Intersection of Culture, Gender and Sports.” At Duke she is the editor for Our Lives, the blog sponsored by Blue Devils United (the LGBTQ and Ally undergraduate group), a staff writer for Develle Dish, the student run feminist blog, and a manager for the women’s basketball team. Risa also sits on the review boards for WOMYN (Duke’s magazine made by and for LGBTQ women and their allies) and Unzipped (Duke’s Journal of Gender and Sexuality). She was a founding resident of the Women’s Housing Option, is a proud feminist and is an outspoken member of the LGBTQA community. In the summer, she works at a Jewish Outdoor Adventure camp in Colorado. Her favorite adjective to describe herself is “quirky” and she loves all things purple. Risa welcomes your emails at risa.isard@gmail.com.
Crystal Chalk
Crystal is a 3rd year student at Duke University from Brooklyn, New York. She intends to major in Psychology with minors in Cultural Anthropology and English. Crystal is heavily involved in community service, on the executive board of Future Is Now Mentoring Program and as a member of the public service organization Delta Sigma Theta. While she is pursuing a career in Advertising/ Marketing, her academic interests are in African-American literature, and how identity is renegotiated through characters. Her interest in feminism stems from exposure to many strong female influences and a desire to learn more about the historical context of the Women’s Movement. She can be reached at crystal.chalk@duke.edu.
Baye Cobb
Baye is a native North Carolinian and 3rd year student at Duke graduating a semester early in December of 2011 with degrees in Public Policy and Women’s Studies and a minor in History. She is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, and was a Gender Equity and Leadership intern at the Duke Women’s Center from 2009-2011. Her interest in women and children’s rights stemmed from a “feminist awakening” in a “Women As Leaders” class which she took her freshman fall semester. As she developed her personal feminist ideology and simultaneously her interest in women’s rights in developing countries, she found herself inspired to join the Peace Corps after graduation. After returning from the Peace Corps, Baye hopes to remain involved in advocating for women’s rights both in her personal and professional life. Baye can be reached at baye.cobb@gmail.com.
<<Back to About