NYU Steinhardt Announces 2021-2022 Dean’s Scholars-in-Residence

NYU Steinhardt has announced three Scholars-in-Residence for the 2021-2022 academic year: Kaya Henderson, CEO of Reconstruction and the former chancellor of DC public schools; Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder of the nonprofit Food Tank; and visual and performance artist Julie Tolentino. Henderson, Nierenberg, and Tolentino will join Steinhardt’s departments of administration, leadership, and technology; nutrition and food studies, and art and art professions, respectively.

“The scholarly and cultural impact of Kaya's, Danielle's, and Julie’s work seamlessly aligns with NYU Steinhardt’s commitment to advancing the education, health, and well-being of people and communities by furthering knowledge, creativity, and innovation,” said Jack H. Knott, Dean of NYU Steinhardt. “We will benefit not only from their expertise as individuals, but also from the unique interdisciplinary opportunities that will arise through their collaborative efforts."

Launched in 2018, NYU Steinhardt's Dean’s Scholar-in-Residence program welcomes distinguished academics, artists, advocates, and other thought-leaders to the NYU Steinhardt community to share their expertise; mentor students and faculty; highlight the School’s academics, research, and community impact; and support efforts to advance equity, belonging, and innovation.

In their roles, Henderson, Nierenberg, and Tolentino will conduct master classes, workshops, and participate in a public event each semester.

Henderson is the co-founder and CEO of Reconstruction, a technology company that offers a K-12 curriculum that highlights the history and contributions of Black people in myriad subjects that include geography, mathematics, and cooking. She is also the co-host of Pod Save the People, a podcast focused on activism, culture, politics and social justice. 

During her time as the chancellor of DC public schools from 2010-2016, Henderson’s district saw a number of improvements, including an increase in graduation rates, and the largest growth of any urban district on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) over multiple years.

Nierenberg, an expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues, has traveled to more than 70 countries across the world for her on-the-ground research on global agriculture and interventions to address hunger and poverty. Her nonprofit, Food Tank, is focused on advancing environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty. Food Tank has held domestic and international summits convening hundreds of experts for forums on pressing issues around food systems.

Nierenberg has been cited in more than 20,000 major print and broadcast outlets worldwide and received the Julia Child Award in 2020 for the global impact of her work.

Tolentino (she/they interchangeably) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work draws from a variety of visual, archival, and movement strategies. Her performance installation works include .bury.me.fiercely., THE SKY REMAINS THE SAME, Raised By Wolves, REPEATER, and SLIPPING INTO DARKNESS – Day & Night. In 2008, Tolentino built and developed Feral House Studio in the Mojave Desert where she hosts one-to-one artist and writing residencies.

Tolentino has served as a visiting assistant professor in UCLA’s first cross-school performance-making class, "Opening to the Radical Body," and has been a guest artist and lecturer at BARD Curatorial, NYU Performance Studies, Cal Arts, and The New School. They received a 2020 Queer Art Sustained Achievement Award and a 2019 Foundation for Contemporary Art in Performance grant.