Christopher R.H. Hanusa, Mathematics (Facilitator)
Professor Hanusa is a Professor of Mathematics at Queens College of the City University of New York. His research is in algebraic and enumerative combinatorics. Specifically, he studies the combinatorics of flow polytopes, lattice point enumeration, and combinatorial interpretations of Coxeter groups. Professor Hanusa is also interested in the visualization and artistic qualities of mathematical concepts and aims to popularize mathematics to a wider audience.
Amy Wan, English (Facilitator)
Amy J. Wan (she/her) is Professor of English at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center. She teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on writing, literacy, and pedagogy and is the author of Producing Good Citizens: Literacy Training in Anxious Times (Pittsburgh, 2014). She is the recipient of the CCCC Braddock Award (2023) and the Richard Ohmann Award (2012). Her current project analyzes how to create spaces for change and resistance within the global US university through a historical and contemporary study of policies addressing access, diversity, race, and language. She is also the co-PI for a $1.7 million U.S. Department of Education AANAPISI grant awarded to Queens College in 2022.
Padmini Biswas, Urban Studies
Professor Biswas has held various leadership positions in the social justice space. She advanced diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within New York State government, directed an undergraduate human rights education program that took students to Nepal, Jordan and Chile to broaden their perspectives on activism, and served as the Assistant Director of the Center for Place, Culture and Politics at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is the Labor Studies Advisor and teaches courses focused on urban diversity, global cities, and labor and globalization.
Yu Chen, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Professor Chen’s research interest includes transition metal catalysis, asymmetric synthesis and catalysis, and heterocyclic chemistry. The development of new chemical reactions mediated by transition metals is currently one of the main goals of Chen Group. The group is particularly interested in palladium, gold, and iron catalyzed cascade reactions. The late transition metal catalyzed asymmetric synthesis is another major research topic of the Chen group. The group is committed to designing and preparing new ligands with axial or facial chirality for efficient and highly stereoselective transition metal catalysis.
Sandra Córdoba, English
Professor Córdoba teaches undergraduate classes on academic writing and writing about literature, including English 110, English 130, and English 162W. Her pedagogy focuses on encouraging student motivation and reflective engagement in the writing process. To this end, she incorporates performance activities that aim to support students’ kinesthetic engagement with their own writing. She is also interested in the use of poetry as a form of political participation and literacy practice in the composition classroom, and the intersection of composition and philosophy.
Robin Hizme, English
Robin Hizme teaches literature and writing classes in the English and Middle Eastern Studies departments at Queens College, CUNY, where she oversees the Honors in the Humanities curriculum for the Bridge Year between Townsend Harris High School and Queens College. Her learning activities are designed to empower students as critical thinkers, writers, and change agents by honing analytical skills and exploring diverse perspectives. Current projects include collaborative teaching and learning across international borders as well as writing about legacies of generational trauma on individual development and communal identity narratives.
Sara Lopez Amezquita, English
Professor Lopez Amezquita teaches courses about writing, the teaching of writing in multilingual and academic contexts, and the politics of immigration in writing. Her first-year writing courses (ENG 110 and 115) have focused on topics like the economy of language, laboring multilingualism, and community belonging. She has also designed and taught courses like ENG 202W: Rhetoric and Writing for English Education, ENG 391W: American-ish: Immigrants Writing Citizenship in the Literary Imagination, and ENG 703: Composition Theory and Literacy Studies.
Christine Ramadhin, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Professor Ramadhin teaches Introductory Environmental Science courses and an advanced course on Building Climate Resilience. Her teaching philosophy centers on creating dynamic and inclusive learning experiences that ignite student curiosity and develop a mindset of inquiry. By connecting course concepts to real-world challenges and encouraging students to explore interdisciplinary approaches, Professor Ramadhin inspires learners to discover and share their unique strengths and interests. Through fostering a collaborative and supportive learning community, she hopes to empower students to engage deeply, think critically, and apply their knowledge to drive meaningful change.
Ashraf Shady, Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Professor Shady is an associate professor of science education. Before becoming a university science educator, he spent 20 years with the New York City Department of education as a science teacher, science coordinator, and science director. His research focuses on how race, class, ethnicity, and identity issues construct urban students’ performance in science education.
Oren Steinberg, Computer Science
Oren Steinberg is a lecturer of Computer Science. He teaches Data Structures, Database Systems, and Intro to Algorithmic Problem Solving.
