Institutional Memory Project

Meet the Research Team

Amy Brainer, Faculty Researcher

I'm an associate professor of Women's and Gender Studies and director of LGBTQ Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. I'm the faculty advisor to Pride and co-advisor to Iris. (See Fatima's bio for more about Iris!) I started this project because I wanted to preserve the memories of my mentors and colleagues who were retiring. With the support of the Inclusive History Project, it grew into something much bigger. My greatest joy has been working with Fatima and Lyla and seeing Women's and Gender Studies freshly through their eyes.

Fatima al-Bedany, Student Researcher

I'm a Sociology and Women's and Gender Studies undergraduate student and former WILL+ president. My experiences in LGBTQ Studies, WGST, and WILL+ inspired me to co-create and direct Iris, the first college organization for queer Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) and Muslim students. As I work on this project and listen to these interviews, I have learned more about the kind of leader I want to be.

Lyla Kerr, Student Researcher

I’m a student pursuing majors in both Computer and Information Science and Women’s and Gender Studies, and I am a board member of Pride. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work on this archive and immerse myself in the knowledge it contains. I have learned so much about the program and the inner workings of academia, and I hope to see this archive live and breathe and grow with more knowledge for myself and others to explore.

Suzanne Bergeron, Consultant

I'm an emerita professor of Women's Studies and Social Sciences at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a former director of both Women in Learning and Leadership and Women's and Gender Studies. I am beyond grateful to Amy and the team for their amazing work in bringing the history of the program to life through these oral histories. I am also very glad to have had the opportunity to contribute my institutional knowledge to the project as a consultant.

I'm an associate professor of Anthropology and faculty affiliate of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. As a fellow ethnographer, I had the privilege of interviewing the project’s leader, Amy Brainer, who tells the story of her own experiences in the program. This project recounts a history of labor, care, and devotion at an important time for Women's and Gender Studies. It is a beautiful and provocative narration of challenges past, present, and future. What an honor to be a part of it!