October 12, 2022: Third Space Speaker Series: Critical Disability Studies

The Third Space Speaker Series, sponsored by the Johnston-Fix Foundation, is an intentional manifestation of the College’s commitment to inclusive excellence and stated values of diversity, equity and inclusion. The next Third Space event, on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. in Maxey Auditorium, will focus on critical disability studies and disability justice and will feature Dr. Lissa Ramirez-Stapleton, Dr. Lisette E. Torres-Gerald and Alex Locust.

Dr. Lissa Ramirez-Stapleton is a prolific intersectional scholar currently serving as an associate professor at California State University Northridge in the Deaf Studies Department and core faculty in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program. Ramirez-Stapleton co-edited a special issue on disability justice, race and education for the "The Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity." Ramirez-Stapleton publishes on a range of topics including audism, sizeism, racism and other subjects with an emphasis on equity, representation, access, history and intersectional identities.

Dr. Lisette E. Torres-Gerald is a visiting assistant professor in the Secondary and Higher Education Department at Salem State University. A trained scientist and disabled scholar-activist, Torres-Gerald's work focuses on addressing racial and gender inequity and disability in STEM and higher education. She has a doctorate with a certificate in Social Justice from the School of Education at Iowa State University and a master’s degree in Zoology with a certificate in Ecology from Miami University. Torres-Gerald is a senior research associate and program coordinator at TERC, a non-profit made up of teams of math and science education and research experts and is also a co-founder/executive board member of the National Coalition for Latinxs with Disabilities (CNLD).

Alex Locust is a certified rehabilitation counselor and proud biracial "glamputee." Locust spent several years working as a counselor with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and is dedicated to spreading the word about disability justice. He studied psychology at the University of Miami and the University of Edinburgh and graduated from San Francisco State University with a master’s degree in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling. Among his many accolades, Locust earned the Peggy H. Smith Graduate Student Distinguished Achievement Award as well as Graduate Student of the Year from the National Council on Rehabilitation Education.