Faculty Bios
Susan J. Behren
Susan J. Behrens holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Brown University. At Brown, and later as a research associate at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (NY) and Cambridge University (UK), Susan conducted research on the processing of language and its neural connections. At MMC, Susan is Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She teaches Normal Language Acquisition, Phonetics, Sociolinguistics and Issues in Bilingualism, and Speech and Hearing Science. Her textbook, with co-author Jack Ryalls, is entitled An Introduction to Speech Science (Allyn and Bacon, 2000). Forthcoming are two additional texts: Language in the Real World (co-edited with Judith Parker) and Grammar: A Pocket Guide for Students (both with Routledge Press).
Carrie-Ann Biondi
Carrie-Ann Biondi holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University. Her research interests include citizenship and immigration policy, virtue ethics, children's rights, consent theory and political obligation, and philosophy of education (especially Socratic pedagogy). Her research is also branching out into philosophy of literature (with a focus on the relationship between moral and aesthetic value) and the philosophy of death and dying. She usually teaches courses in political philosophy, philosophy of law, ancient Greek philosophy, and ethics, as well as various interdisciplinary courses in Marymount's Freshman Writing Seminar Program.
Giovanna Chesler
Giovanna Chesler, who holds a M.F.A. from San Francisco State University, is a Director and Producer of documentary and narrative films and web based work that address themes of the body, sexuality, and gender. She teaches courses in video production and film theory. Her film work produced through her production company G6 Pictures includes Period: The End of Menstruation, BeauteouS: The Trilogy and hand-some. Sound theory and documentary theory figure prominently in her critical research; a recently published article in Jump Cut, Spring 2007, explores a 'sound first' pedagogy in the audio/video classroom. Chesler works as a cinematographer and has shot for independent filmmakers and broadcast television.
Anthony Naaeke
Anthony Naaeke holds a Ph.D. from Duquesne University. His research interests include persuasion in cultural (African) narratives; communicating faith in a postmodern world; and communication and advocacy in development communication. He has published in the Journal of Dagaare Studies and Gender and Behavior. Recent publications include "Liberating the 'Mistress' in Africa: The Prophetic Role of Development Communication."
Corinne Crawford
A certified public accountant with a M.B.A. from Pace University, Professor Crawford joined Marymount Manhattan College after working at several major corporations. She was a Senior Manager at Price Waterhouse Coopers and KPMG and the controller at Hitachi Credit Corporation. She has taught undergraduate and MBA students on a part time basis at New York University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Pace University, and Fordham University. Professor Crawford is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a member of The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Katie LeBesco
Katie LeBesco holds a Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts. She regularly teaches Principles and Theories of Communication, History and Development of Communication Theory, and Communication Today. She also teaches electives including Gender, Sexuality and Media, Media Criticism, and Deconstructing Reality TV, and interdisciplinary courses including Edible Ideologies: The Politics of Food, Feminist and Queer Theory, and Queer Eye: Lesbian and Gay Cinema. She is author of Revolting Bodies? The Struggle to Redefine Fat Identity and co-editor of The Drag King Anthology, Edible Ideologies: Representing Food and Meaning, and Bodies Out of Bounds: Fatness and Transgression. She is currently working on a new book about food and class politics.
Lia Leon Margolin
Dr. Lia Leon Margolin received her Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics from Tbilisi State University, Georgia. She joined Marymount Manhattan College's Science Division in September 2006 as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics. Dr. Margolin is a recipient of Career Education Corporation's (CEC) "Educator of the Year 2005" award for teaching excellence, and J. Soros International Science Foundation Grant for her research in Mathematical Physics. Dr. Margolin's current research interests are in mathematical modeling of few-electron quantum dots (artificial atoms) and in investigating few-body hypernuclear systems. In summer 2007 she was awarded a Diplomate in Mathematical Physics in recognition of her work as a research fellow. Dr. Margolin conducts research collaborations with scientists at New York City College of Technology, CUNY and Tbilisi State University, Georgia.
Michelle Ronda
Michelle Ronda, a Ph.D. candidate at Graduate Center, City University of New York, has long-standing interests in criminal justice, public policy and the methods of social research. Her dissertation, " Professionalizing the Community in Comprehensive Community Initiatives " is a case study of a New York City community examining the impact of neoliberal political forces on people working within low-income urban neighborhoods struggling for social change. Her research focuses on the difficulties that emerge when inequalities of gender, race, ethnicity, poverty and power are obscured and how efforts at "community empowerment" engender exhaustion among the very people they are meant to inspire as well as how the pursuit of funding alters the quality of grassroots social programs.
Rebecca Mushtare
Rebecca Mushtare, holder of a M.F.A., is a visual artist working in both the physical and virtual realms. Rooted in research, her projects often investigate the space and technology of power/privilege from that of the cyborg to the toys of a toddler. The dissonance of technologies that are simultaneously liberating and oppressive (many home technologies fit into this category) is of particular interest to Rebecca. She has worked in a variety of media, including: installation, physical computing, performance, lenticular and digital prints, artist books, web sites, and dyed/manipulated fabrics. Documentation of her projects can be found at http://rebeccawhite.us. Rebecca teaches courses exploring digital media.
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