Team
MARTHA DIAZ - FOUNDING DIRECTOR AND CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
CASEY WONG - GRADUATE RESEARCHER - THINK TANK MANAGER
Casey Wong is a student in the Sociology of Education Master's Program at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. His work in education began in the fall of 2006 as a tutor and mentor at Berkley Maynard Academy, an Aspire Public School located in Oakland, CA. In the spring of 2007 Casey would co-establish, with four other UC Berkeley students, an after-school enrichment program at this school called FRESH! (Freshly Redefining Education for Students through Hip-hop!). Casey served as Co-Director of this program through the spring of 2010 collaborating with numerous Bay Area artists and activists. In the process of developing FRESH!, he would switch roles from tutor and mentor, to becoming a full-time staff member in the fall of 2009. From the fall of 2009 he would serve Berkley Maynard Academy as a middle school after-school teacher, independent studies advanced math/science teacher, educational assistant, educational specialist, and electives teacher. Notably, in the spring of 2010 he would develop and implement an elective course with the assistance of parents, artists, and students entitled "BMA Hip Hop Elective: Democratic Education and Discussion." Beyond work at Berkley Maynard Academy, Casey served Dr. Edward Lee as a teacher's assistant in elementary level Yongmudo at UC Berkeley from the fall of 2007 to the spring of 2009. As part of a course at UC Berkeley, Casey participated as a volunteer and researcher at Camp Sweeney within the Alameda Incarceration Facility where he assisted students in acquiring their GED. He graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley in the spring of 2009 with a BA in Rhetoric. Casey is also an active B-boy, most recently performing live with Zion I as part of the Berkeley Kingz, and beat-maker, battling in the spring of 2009 to become a Grind for the Green Beat Battle Finalist.
JUSTINE OUANO - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, WOMEN AND GENDER STUDIES INITIATIVE
Justine Iris Ouano is the Assistant Director of the Women and Gender Studies initiative. She graduated from the Educational Leadership, Politics, and Advocacy Masters Program in Steinhardt. Justine is interested in advancing her career in community development in the arenas of diversity and multicultural education with a social justice framework. As a native of the always fresh Bay Area of California, Justine's involvement with her community began by running an after-school program for at-risk youth in East Side San Jose. She discovered her passion for social justice and education during her time at San Jose State University, where she would attain a Bachelors in Sociology with an emphasis in Community Change, as well as a Minor in Asian American Studies. She worked with the Cesar Chavez Community Action Center as the Campus and Community Organization liaison and the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, advocating in both San Jose and New Orleans for the re-building of the Gulf Coast regions most affected by Hurricane Katrina. Justine has also spoken at several college and high school campuses throughout the South Bay on the history and present-day issues of the Filipino-Amercican community. During the short time she has been in New York, she has worked with preschool, middle school, high school, and undergraduate students on areas regarding literacy development, community involvement, social justice, and race relations, respectively.
TAHIR HEMPHILL - RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Tahir Hemphill is an award-winning creative director and multimedia artist working in the areas of interdisciplinary thought, collaboration and research. As creative director, Hemphill has planned strategy for businesses in the entertainment, advertising, and nonprofit industries. He has conceived and implemented design-based solutions for companies such as Mercedes Benz, L’Oreal, Verizon, and Microsoft. Hemphill has been a consultant for Y&R, Publicis, Grey, Saatchi & Saatchi and Burrell Communications. Hemphill’s creative process explores the vicinity between the profound and the profane, between art and science. His artwork will be featured in the upcoming Talk to Me exhibit at MoMA which explores communication between people and objects. Hemphill's work has been exhibited at Siggraph (Siggraph 2002); Queens Museum of Art (Queens International Biennial, 2002) and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (Black New York Photographers of the Twentieth Century, 1999). Hemphill holds a B.A. in Spanish Language from Morehouse College, a Strategic Planning Certificate from Miami Ad School, and a M.S. in Communications Design from Pratt Institute -- where he authored and designed a treatise on the methodologies of creatives who use traditional advertising techniques to promote subversive and prosocial campaigns. Currently Hemphill enjoys his role as cultural entrepreneur, operating the Brooklyn-based creative enterprise, Staple Crops. His current project, The Hip-Hop Word Count is a searchable rap almanac. Hemphill also manages the media arts education program for Red Clay Arts, a nonprofit incubator for contemporary artists that he co-founded in 2000.
PAST GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
BRIDGET BLOUNT - GRADUATE RESEARCHER - H2ED FELLOWS PROGRAM (SPRING 2011)
MARA LEVY - GRADUATE RESEARCHER - NATIONAL SCAN PROJECT (SUMMER 2011)
STEVE NECOH - POST-GRADUATE RESEARCHER (ST. JOHNS UNIVERSITY) - H2ED FELLOWS PROGRAM (SUMMER 2011)
LUCAS SUAREZ-OROZCO - VISITING GRADUATE ASSISTANT (ST. PETERS COLLEGE) - MARKETING & PROMOTIONS (SUMMER 2011)
CASEY WONG - GRADUATE RESEARCHER - NATIONAL SCAN PROJECT (SPRING 2011)
JUSTINE OUANO - GRADUATE RESEARCHER - NATIONAL SCAN PROJECT (SPRING 2011)
ASHLEY NEWBY - GRADUATE RESEARCHER - LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE ASSISTANT (2010-2011)