intergenerational girlhood
One of TGP's core elements is disrupting normative ideas of power inside and outside of the classroom. Our space is contingent upon the sharing of power in intergenerational ways, subverting power dynamics between professors, research assistants, interns, students, facilitators and girls, ensuring reciprocal learning processes. Meet the people that make all of this possible!
TGP FACULTY
tgp faculty
DR. AMY RUTSEIN-RILEY
TGP Founding Director and Principal Investigator, Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Education, and Associate Professor of Sociology, Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass.
Amy teaches courses in girls’ and women’s studies, sociology, qualitative research methods, and adult learning and development. She is the co-chair of the Women’s Studies Steering Committee and Women’s Center where she has initiated programming focused on women’s health, sexual assault prevention, and a leadership enrichment and development study group for women faculty. The work. closest to Amy’s heart is The Girlhood Project.
CHERYL WEINER
Emerging Girlhood Scholar:
Girlhood Student > Research Assistant > Professor
Cheryl Weiner, MPH, is a doctoral candidate at Lesley University. Her work focuses on Jewish adolescent girls’ social identity development. Cheryl currently serves a co-instructor of the course Girlhood, Identity and Girl Culture and co-manages The Girlhood Project. Prior to this role, she participated in TGP as a student participant, ethnographer, and researcher. Cheryl values the ongoing—and sometimes unexpected—learning she receives from her continued participation in TGP.
KATHRYN VAN DEMARK
Emerging Girlhood Scholar: Girlhood Student > Teaching Assistant >Research Assistant > Professor
Kathryn Van Demark is a 2016 graduate of Lesley University where she studied Holistic
Psychology and Wellness, and began her work with The Girlhood Project. Kathryn participated in TGP as a student and Emerging Girlhood Scholar by serving as a Teaching Assistant, Researcher, and now a co-instructor of the course Girlhood, Identity and Girl Culture. Both her academic and professional work centers on emerging adults at the intersections of leadership development, education, wellbeing and social justice.
SARAH MITCHELL DOYLE
Emerging Girlhood Scholar: PhD Research Fellow
Sarah Mitchell Doyle, M.Ed., is a doctoral candidate at Lesley University. Her TGP research focuses on creating space for emerging scholars to practice feminist pedagogy in girls’ groups. Sarah also teaches a range of Sociology courses at Lesley, and is an ally to student-parents and other vulnerable learners who continue to be marginalized by education policies and systems. Sarah works closely with high school student activists and co-creates social justice curricula in her community.
facilitation team
Mary Medrano
Teaching Assistant
Mary Medrano has worked with TGP since the beginning of 2020 and is a senior at Lesley University studying Psychology. Mary has a lot of experience working with and supporting youth as she has worked for The Steppingstone Foundation for two years. She hopes to bring her skills and infectious energy to assist upcoming facilitators and TGP members in creating a fun and brave space. After graduating from Lesley in the Spring, Mary plans on continuing to work in supporting youth and pursue an acting career!
Fia Walklet
Project Intern
Fia Walklet is a Girlhood Scholar who first took the course in Spring of 2020, and has since contributed to and co-wrote a scholarly article, alongside other TGP’s facilitators, on the implications of COVID-19 on feminist pedagogy and girl-centric work, advocacy, and activism. Fia also is an avid reader and writer who regularly incorporates feminist literary criticism in her analytical work. Fia is a candidate for a Bachelor’s degree in December 2021 in English with a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Lesley University.
Kaelyn Anderson
Program Assistant
Kaelyn Anderson is a 6 year TGP alum, Boston native and the current facilitation consultant for The Girlhood Project. During her time at Lesley she studied a variety of subjects but focused her studies on Sociology, Social Work, and Gender Studies, with particular focus on the intersections of race, identity, class and gender. She was a key role in the emergence of our high school program and her role today focuses largely on the high school students and how we can continue to support and uplift their incredible voices, as well as helping our wonderful college students facilitate this co-constructed space.
Jocelyn Martinez
Course Assistant
Jocelyn Martinez is a Girlhood Scholar and has worked with TGP since the beginning of 2020. Starting off as a student in the course, she eventually published a paper about girlhood during COVID-19 and its effects on our program with the TGP team. As a first generation born U.S. Citizen she has always felt at home building community and supporting immigrants. Jocelyn will receive a Bachelor's degree this December for Global Studies with a minor in Environmental Science at Lesley University
rshonda smith
Course Assistant
Rshonda Smith is a Girlhood Scholar and has worked with TGP since spring 2020. Rshonda started off as a student in the TGP course, and after graduating was invited to come back to be apart to the team to serve as a mentor, and to gain further scholarship to apply to the start of her career as a recent graduate. She currently holds a bachelors in arts with a concentration in Children, Youth, and Family Studies.
Dr. Charlotte E. Jacobs
Jacobs earned her Ph.D. in the Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Her research interests focus on issues related to the intersections of identity, race, and gender in education concerning students and teachers, and participatory action research methods. To this end, Charlotte recently co-founded the EnGenderED Research Collaborative, a space for research, program development, and practitioner training.
Dr. Katie Clonan-Roy
Clonan-Roy is an Assistant Professor at Cleveland State University, in the College of Education and Human Service’s Department of Curriculum and Foundations. Katie's research focuses on the intersections of education, adolescent development, and gender and sexuality studies. Katie’s current work takes on intersectional and critical perspectives in examining the development of critical literacy in after school spaces for girls, the inclusion and responsivity of sex education curricula of/to sexual and gender minority youth, and the preparation and education of equity-focused teachers.
Dr. Dominique Hill
Hill is a Black queer feminist whose written and performed scholarship interrogates Black embodiment. A Black girlhood scholar and homegirl of Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT), Hill takes seriously the process of making space for Black girl freedom. Her scholarship is internationally recognized and published in top tier journals. It serves as foundational framing for alternative educative spaces like The Girlhood Project.
Ellen Friedrichs
Friedrichs is a health educator, writer, and mom. Originally from Canada, she now runs a middle and high school health education program for teens, and teaches at Brooklyn College. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the HuffPost, Rewire News, everydayfeminism.com, and gURL.com. Currently, she answers sex and relationship questions on the Okayso app. Author of Good Sexual Citizenship: How To Create A (Sexually) Safer World.
Lisa Hurtubise
Hurtubise is an assistant principal at Belmont High School who focuses on developing knowledge, voice, and leadership skills in adolescents through educator relationships with students. Lisa holds a Masters in Teaching Secondary English from Boston College and a Masters in Administrative Leadership from Endicott College. She has worked with girls and women in education for 17 years.
CO-CONSPIRATORS
CO-CONSPIRATORS
PSST, WANNA SEE MORE TGP?
