RPI | Leadership Team | University of Puget Sound

Leadership Team

The Race & Pedagogy Institute (RPI) is led by a team of six faculty and one staff member at the University of Puget Sound who work in collaboration with campus constituents and community partners to engage in strategic planning, coordination, and oversight of RPI activities.

The Leadership Team brings years of experience to conversations about multidimensionality of race in the context of education and society. The leadership team teaches in African American Studies, Asian Studies, History, Psychology and Religion, Spirituality & Society departments. Additionally, on top of their duties as regular faculty who teach, advise they also mentor students and serve as faculty advisors to student cohorts in the Access, Posse and First Year Inside (FYI) programs. The Leadership Team members also serve in roles as Faculty Senate Liaison to the Associated Student of the University of Puget Sound, and on Faculty Senate Committees such as the Comprehensive Program Review Committee, Curriculum Committee, Diversity Advisory Committee, Faculty Advancement Committee & Student Life Committee.

The Leadership Team in Action

Renee Simms co-moderating a conversational keynote with Valerie B. Jarrett alongside Robin Jacobson, professor of politics and government at the 2018 RPNC. — Renee Simms co-moderating a conversational keynote with Valerie B. Jarrett alongside Alissa Kessel, professor of politics and government at the 2018 RPNC.

African American Studies professor Grace Livingston addresses the audience during the 2018 Race and Pedagogy National Conference Thank You Reception, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, in Upper Marshall Hall.

Nancy Bristow introduces Angela Davis at the 2014 RPNC — Nancy Bristow introducing Angela Davis at the 2014 RPNC

Nancy Bristow, Grace Livingston and Carolyn Weisz with former Director Dexter Gordon and Community Partner at the 2015 RPI Planning Summit — Nancy Bristow, Grace Livingston and Carolyn Weisz with Dexter Gordon and a Community Partner at the 2015 RPI Planning Summit.

LaToya Brackett with RPI guest A.D. Carson checking out the exhibit Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle in October 2022

LaToya Brackett raises her first in solidarity with Alicia Garza co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement during Ms. Garza and Ms. Patric Culler's introduction and welcome to the stage as the final plenary session keynote speakers at the 2018 RPNC.

Renee Simms reconnecting with a community partner at a post-presentation by Nolan Cabrera where his talk was titled, Whiteness: A Primer on the Core Barrier to Racial Liberation in November 2022.

Jonathan Stockdale conversing with Faculty and Staff colleagues in attendance at the AFAM 399: Public Scholarship workshop titled Unearthing Positionality with RPI guest lecturer David Leonard in attendance.

Meet Faculty Members of the RPI Leadership Team

Learn More about RPI

Grace Livingston

Professor and Chair, African American Studies

glivingston@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Livingston's scholarly and teaching interests include Black Atlantic social thought; intersectional foundations of curriculum knowledge production; popular education; and the racialized politics of memory, the archive and the aesthetic.

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Carolyn Weisz

Professor Emerita, Psychology

cweisz@pugetsound.edu

Carolyn Weisz is a social psychologist with research interests in racism, homelessness, and social perception.

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Nancy Bristow

Professor, History

nbristow@pugetsound.edu

The author of three books, Prof. Bristow focuses on the interplay of identity, inequity, social cataclysm, and change, with particular emphasis on race, in her 20th century American history classes.

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Renee Simms

Associate Professor, African American Studies

rsimms@pugetsound.edu

An accomplished writer, essayist, and poet, Prof. Renee Simms teaches courses in African American literature, black feminist theory, and fiction writing.

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Jonathan Stockdale

Professor, Religion, Spirituality, and Society

jstockdale@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Stockdale's scholarly interests focus on Japanese religion and culture, with recent research examining the spiritualization of whales in Japanese history and modern memory.

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LaToya Brackett

Associate Professor, African American Studies, Race and Pedagogy Institute

lbrackett@pugetsound.edu

Prof. Brackett is an avid writer, with work appearing in several publications. Her teaching and research focuses on African American pop culture, intercultural communication, and contemporary issues.

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Meet our RPI Staff!

Program Coordinator | Serena Lynn Sevasin '22

Serena Lynn Sevasin (she/they), is a recent graduate from the University of Puget Sound where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies alongside a minor in Education. Serena was born and raised in South Tacoma, moving to Proctor District shortly before beginning at Puget Sound. Serena initially came to the university with an English major, but found themselves flourishing with the African American studies courses from the beginning of their Sophomore year with an inquisitive and active push onward.

Serena joined the Race and Pedagogy Institute (RPI) as the Program Coordinator and Leadership Team member in May 2024, although she worked briefly with the institute in Summer 2021 as a Programs Assistant. Through work in that time, she bridged collaboration between the Institute and the Tacoma Art Museum during their time exhibiting the Kinsey Collection. Through work with online conversations surrounding connections between art, race, curation, and collaboration, Serena hosted these conversations through September and October of 2021. She finds her re-entrance to the University and RPI to be refreshing and a reminder of why they began doing outward-facing work in community and collaboration with others. There is a synergy that she desires among the Institute with Puget Sound and the community beyond. She uses her experiences of wearing many hats and being a former student to her advantage in fostering connections between staff, students, and faculty alike.

Serena hopes to embrace life full-time in Tacoma amidst reintroducing herself to the Puget Sound community. Considering her work to be an everyday practice, Serena continues to serve as an advocate in issues surrounding race and identity for students in and out of the office.

Program Assistant | Skya Favor ‘26

Skya (she/her/hers), is a Junior majoring in Gender and Queer Studies with a minor in African American Studies. She spent previous years at the illustrious Fisk University and Colorado College before finding home here at the University of Puget Sound. She was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she first grew her passion for social justice advocacy. Through her work in social justice, she strives to dismantle systems of oppression, empower marginalized communities, and cultivate a society where cultural competency is at the forefront.

“I am honored to be the newest addition to the Race and Pedagogy Institute as the Program Assistant. I look forward to working with the Institute to put theory into practice within the Puget Sound community, and work towards a socially equitable society for Black and Brown communities.”

Program Assistant | Averi Escalera ‘28

Averi (they/them/elle), is a first-year with plans to double major in Biology and Neuroscience with a focus in Neuro Bioethics looking to minor in either Hispanic Studies or Gender and Queer Studies. Averi was born in Lake Chelan, Washington but has moved all around the state eventually settling in Coulee City, Washington, where they now call home. Growing up in small towns and rural areas helped fuel the fire in Averi’s heart for social justice advocacy, and they are overjoyed to be here at UPS helping to support BIPOC communities through work in the Race and Pedagogy Institute.