Mind Over Matter Speakers
Sylvie Alexander — Sylvie is a third-year Environmental Resource Management (ERM) student at The Pennsylvania State University. She is driven by a passion for environmental justice, equitable access to clean water, and supporting underrepresented communities in STEM. Her academic and professional focus centers on community-based participatory research (CBPR), inclusive science communication (ISC), and advancing sovereignty for Indigenous communities. She is a co-director for the Food Justice Project Team (FJPT) and the Rooftop Garden Project Team that are both part of the Penn State Student Farm. She also is president of Earth House Living Learning Community (LLC). Sylvie served as a post-film panelist for Gather
Tawnya Brant — Residing on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, located in southern Ontario, Chef Tawnya Brant is a Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) woman, Indigenous food sovereignty leader, restaurant owner, and recent Top Chef contestant. Chef Brant has been connected to food her entire life. She recalls her childhood as being divided in two separate stages each year, the winter and summer, each carrying different tasks. She entered the restaurant industry at age 12 where she developed a love for the kitchen. This led to a few years in culinary management school before branching out to become a freelance Chef, participating in everything from mom-and-pop shops to prime franchise restaurants. Following the birth of her first child, Brant changed her focus to return back to her village at Ohswé:ken where she opened her very own restaurant, Yawekon Foods, which means “it tastes good” in the Mohawk language. Chef Tawnya Brant served as a post-film panelist for the film Gather.
Dr. Guangqing Chi — Guangqing Chi is a Professor of Rural Sociology, Demography, and Public Health Sciences at Penn State University. His research seeks to understand the interactions between human populations and the built and natural environments and to identify important social, environmental, infrastructural, and institutional assets to help vulnerable populations adapt and become resilient to environmental changes. His current work investigates climate change impacts on coastal communities in the Arctic. He is an expert in spatial and big data analytic methods and lead author of the textbook “Spatial Regression Models for the Social Sciences” (SAGE 2019). For more information, refer to https://theedenresearch.org/. Dr. Guangqing Chi served as a panelist for Newtok.
Autumn Graham — Autumn graduated from Penn State in the spring of 2022 with a B.A. in journalism. She was a teaching assistant for biological sciences, wilderness literature, and introductory chemistry at Penn State. Additionally, she served as a camp counselor for Shaver’s Creek Outdoor School, where she enjoyed seeing the eyes of the young explorers light up as they participated in outdoor programming centered around developing ecological consciousness. Through these various experiences, Autumn developed a passion for mentorship. Currently, Autumn is working under the guidance of Jen Anderson (Shaver’s Creek program director and biology instructor) in the Biological Science (BISCI) course. Autumn served as the moderator for Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.
Jake Hohner — Jake is a junior majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, with a minor in Chemistry. He is the Public Programming Intern at Penn State Sustainability where he helps to select films and speakers for public events and coordinate the logistics and promotion of Penn State’s public programming. Jake is also an active member of Penn State’s EcoReps student sustainability ambassadors program and has been since coming to Penn State. In EcoReps, he is the Athletics Relations Assistant Programming Coordinator, where he works to further the Zero Waste Initiative in the President’s box during football games as well as expand the initiative into other sporting events. Jake served as the moderator for Newtok and Gather.
Martina Kernosh — Martina is a third-year Landscape Architecture student and the Director of student communications for the Student Farm Club. She is passionate about food and cooking, as well as creating an equitable and sustainable future. Martina served as a post-film panelist for Gather
Kendall Mainzer, J.D. — Kendall Mainzer (she/her) works with the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement as Penn State’s Program Coordinator for Civic Engagement and student engagement lead for PSU Votes. She is pursuing a PhD in Educational Psychology and also teaches about ethics, storytelling, and playful placemaking of learning. She earned her Juris Doctorate in 2009 and enjoyed a magical career with the Walt Disney Company in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, before joining Penn State in 2014, serving as the Director of Student Engagement for the College of Arts & Architecture until 2022 and a regular adjunct instructor and frequent guest lecturer. Kendall served as a panelist for Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.
Dr. Sylvia Neely — Sylvia Neely earned a BA in French from Duke University, a master’s from New York University, and a PhD in History from the University of Notre Dame. She taught in Indiana and at St. Louis University before coming to Penn State where she taught European History. She retired in 2011 to work on climate change. She was active in helping to found Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light. She now volunteers with the State College chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which she helped to establish in 2015. Other activities include previous service on the board of Interfaith Human Services. She participates in two book clubs, one of which focuses on environmental issues. She lives with her husband and a nice grey cat in State College. Sylvia served as a panelist for Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.
Kathleen O’Connell — Kathleen O’Connell taught for thirty plus years: elementary school in California (after Credentialing at UC Berkeley), English in the People’s Republic of China, and middle school in State College Area School District, writing a unit on Media Literacy. She’s also an activist–volunteering/testifying with Fair Districts of PA, and organizing for candidates in Clinton and Centre Counties. Since retiring, Kathleen works with the Centre County Office of Elections at a student-heavy precinct, developing materials and trainings. Her time with the League of Women Voters of Centre County as their Penn State Liaison involves voter outreach, education and registration. Founded in 1919 by Suffragist leaders, the League is a non-partisan, grassroots advocacy group. With the LWVCC, Kathleen has worked with local high schools on the PA Governor’s Civic Engagement Award, lead local community outreach, and spearheaded their Community Service Federal Work Study program. Community organizations like LWV strengthen society, and aid in the democratic process. Understanding media and its effects on communities and discourse is also fundamental to democracy. Kathleen holds a BS from Penn State in Environmental Education and an MA in Elementary Education. Kathleen served as a panelist for Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.
Tracy Peterson — Tracy Peterson is the director of student transitions and pre-college programs in Penn State College of Engineering’s Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion (CEOI). He works on establishing regional and national outreach and engagement through pre-college programs, developing programs to enhance college readiness and increasing the participation and support of underrepresented, low-income and first-generation college students. He previously served as the director of the American Indian Program House at Cornell University and as Director of Diversity and Outreach Programs at the University of Iowa. A member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation, Tracy is a Cobell Scholar, a national program named for Elouise Cobell, the pioneering activist who is the subject of the film 100 Years: One Woman’s Quest for Justice. Tracy served as a panelist for Newtok.
Dr. Maggie Shum — Maggie Shum an assistant professor of political science at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. She received her PhD in political science at the University of Notre Dame, specializing in comparative politics with two regional focuses in Latin America and East Asia (Hong Kong and Taiwan). Her research interests include transnational contentious politics, social movement, diasporas politics, party organization, and participatory institutions. Dr. Shum is currently working on research projects focusing on how Hong Kong diasporas (re)construct their collective identity abroad, and how they navigate between the concerns of the homeland and their well-being in the host country such as the US. Her academic works have been published in Journal of Asian and African Studies, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Democratization, and her policy writings on Hong Kong can be found in the Monkey Cage in the Washington Post, Mischief of Factions, and the Diplomat. In addition, she pens the Freedom of the World report on Hong Kong, and serves as the country expert on Hong Kong in the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). Maggie served as a panelist for Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.
Mary Ann Smith — Mary Ann Smith is an Affiliate Researcher and Biology Lecturer at Penn State Schuylkill. She teaches a variety of courses, ranging from Biology and Chemistry to the Environment and Society. Mary Ann has incorporated the film Newtok in her classes since its release, including hosting a virtual meeting with its directors. She served as a panelist for Newtok.
Raymond Yan — Raymond is a junior majoring in Agricultural and Biorenewable Systems Management at Penn State, with a minor in Food and Bio-Entrepreneurship Innovation. Much of his work focuses on aligning emerging technology and policy within food and fiber systems. He co-leads agricultural data science at Nittany AI, where he participates in their first AI agriculture research project. Additionally, Raymond is actively involved in Penn State’s entrepreneurship community as a mentor and alum of the Happy Valley Launchbox’s programming. He advocates for the Food and Bio Entrepreneurship minor and serves as a student representative in Penn State’s engagement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. His guiding philosophy for food and fiber systems work is rooted in concepts related to renewable resources and how society can build upon these resources sustainably. His expertise encompasses topics such as hydrology in the Southwestern United States, biorenewables, geographic information systems, and related areas. Raymond served as a post-film panelist for Gather.
