Ethan Hollinger
Born and raised in a small town in South Carolina, Ethan Hollinger completed his undergraduate work at North Greenville University, graduating magna cum laude with a BA in theater and a minor in English. He continued his studies at Illinois State University, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in Theater with an emphasis in lighting design. He has also competed in the National KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence for Region 3, receiving an honorable mention for his work on Waiora, his monograph project.
Through his work on pieces such as Waiora, Harvest, the Walls, and the Sun Serpent, Ethan continues to explore and promote multiculturalism in every way he can. Diversity is best encouraged to thrive through the creation of a space that accepts and encourages all, regardless of credo, race, gender, sexuality, spirituality, or anything else. Ethan is excited to continue his work with the Frederick Douglass Institute as he works to expand viewpoints and begin conversations about intersectionality and queer theory within theater.
Within his work as a lighting and sound designer, he continues to study the role of technology in theater, as well as its impact on the ever-changing world of interpersonal communications. He continues to seek opportunities to design lighting, sound, and media in collaboration with artists to create immersive experiences for diverse audiences. He has worked in a myriad of roles in theaters across the country, and is delighted to be able to hone his teaching skills in the Department of Theater and Dance at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. Lighting and sound design give him joy, and he hopes to be able to impart his passion to the students.
Armani Davis
Armani is from Homestead, Pa. He attended Duquesne University, where he received a BA in integrated marketing communications, and Edinboro University where he received a Master of Arts in Managerial and Intercultural Communications and a Certificate in Conflict Resolution.
He is currently a doctoral student at Robert Morris University and plans to defend his dissertation in spring 2019 examining the recruitment process, pre-college mindset, motivation factors, and focus on academics and athletics of student-athletes football players at smaller Division I, Division II, and Division III schools through the reflections of prior student athletes.
Armani comes to the FDI institute from Robert Morris University where he served as a retention specialist and summer bridge program coordinator working primarily with conditionally accepted and underrepresented students. His primary role in this position was to provide a comprehensive and culturally sensitive set of support services designed to ensure the academic success of students as measured by retention and graduation rates.
Armani is a member of the PA Black Conference on Higher Education, the 100 Black Men of America, New Leader's Council of Pittsburgh, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. His areas of interest include pipeline to education programming, educational equity, diversity in the work place, and intersectionality.
Griselda Jarquin Wille
Griselda was born in Ciudad Dario, Nicaragua. As a toddler, her family moved to Los Angeles, where she grew up.
In 2008, she graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in History. She decided to remain at SFSU in order to receive her MA in world history, where she focused on the history of Africa, Latin America, and Europe. She completed her Master of Arts degree in 2011.
Griselda is currently a doctoral candidate in history at the University of California-Davis. Her dissertation, "Fighting the War Abroad: The Sandinista Revolution and Transnational Activism in Nicaragua and the U.S., 1973-1990," examines left and right-wing transnational activist networks in both Nicaragua and the United States. "I argue that people-to-people exchanges, or what I call grassroots diplomacy,' successfully affected US national policy toward Nicaragua and ultimately shaped the outcome of the Sandinista revolution. Transnational activists created coalition alliances between Americans and Nicaraguans, launched media campaigns to win hearts and minds, and raised funds to advance their respective US foreign policy objectives to either support or oppose the Nicaraguan revolution. Using oral histories, personal collections, and archives from activist organizations, I show how left-wing activist networks won public support to make military intervention untenable for President Ronald Reagan's administration, while right-wing activist networks effectively mobilized dissent and organized resentment within Nicaragua toward the Sandinistas, which led to their electoral defeat in 1990."
Toward this end, Griselda has conducted research in Nicaragua, Berkeley, Stanford, Madison, Wisconsin, and Washington, DC. Her research was made possible through generous support from UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library Fellowship, Stanford University's Hoover Institute Silas Palmer Research Fellowship and various awards from UC Davis' Department of History.
She has presented her research at various conferences, such as the Latin American Studies Association, the Oral History Association, and the Organization of American Historians.
Griselda has also been afforded opportunities to teach at the collegiate level on a range of topics, such as human rights in Latin America, US-Latin American relations, women and gender history in Latin America, and more at the University of California-Davis. Griselda's excellence in teaching was acknowledged by UC Davis' Office of Graduate Studies when she was selected for the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award in 2018.
Griselda's experiences as a first-generation woman of color has shaped her commitment to ensuring academic diversity through mentorship. As such, she was a mentor in the Undergraduate Research Training and Mentorship Program hosted by UC Davis' Undergraduate Research Center, where she mentored first generation students of color. She guided their exploration of and application to professional school and research fellowships. She also served as a pre-graduate advisor with UC Davis' Student Academic Success Center, where she helped non-traditional students successfully apply to graduate school. She was invited to speak at the 2017 Northern California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education on various topics, such as "Keys to Success and Survival in Graduate School." Her work was recognized when she was nominated for the Social Sciences Dean's Award for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity at UC Davis.
Nathaniel Abrams, Jr.
Nathaniel Abrams, Jr. is returning to the Frederick Douglass Scholars Fellowship for his second year here at IUP. To learn more about Nathaniel, read his bio on the 2017 Scholars page!