Project Lead/ Backend Developer/ Assistant Researcher
Tasha (she / her) is a CRM Specialist by day, Digital Humanities Master’s student at the CUNY Graduate Center by night. So far, her graduate school career has included crafting an interactive map of Eurovision winners, turning both Alice and Wonderland and death planning into their own respective video games, and now working as the Project Lead, Wax Backend Developer, and Assistant Researcher for the Women of Bandura project. In between, you may find her playing the bandura, crocheting, or listening to her cat’s endless words of wisdom. Looking to the future, expect to see more from her in video games, digital archives, memory studies, death positivity, and Ukrainian cultural preservation.
Frontend Developer/ Internal Dev-Ed Lead
Alex is a software engineer in love with the world outside of (impacted by, apart from, in spite of) tech. As a Digital Humanities masters program candidate, she hopes to bring her artistic, personal, and professional worlds in closer alignment, using the tools of her trade to engage in questions that deeply resonate with her personhood.
On the Women of Bandura project team, Alex contributed as the frontend developer. Additionally, drawing on her past experience as a teaching assistant and curriculum designer for multiple learn-to-code programs, she also planned shadowing and educational opportunities for team members looking to level-up their development skills.
Researcher/ Content Editor/ Social Media Specialist
Melissa (she/they) is a part time masters student at the CUNY Graduate Center in the Digital Humanities program and works full time as a Paralegal. They have their undergraduate degree in History and English, with interests in feminist theory, intersections of identity, queerness, and twin studies. Her academic career includes a proposal for a twin research database and an interactive fiction that explores identity in twins. They are a researcher, content editor, and social media/outreach specialist on the Women in Bandura project. When she’s not at school or working you can find her hanging out with her sister, watching movies with her wife, having a salon with friends, and staring longingly at her cats.
Researcher/ Assistant Content Editor/ Development Shadow
Lini is a M.A. student in Digital Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center. She holds a BFA (Painting) from Mumbai and a Masters and PhD in art history as well as a Curatorial Certificate from Rutgers University. Her research interests explore race, gender biases and the intersection of art, medicine and care. Her dissertation argues that American artist, Mary Cassatt’s artistic practice utilized the visual language of contemporary science and medicine and her lived experience as a caregiver to intervene in discourses of gender and health. Lini taught online and in-person art history and college writing courses at Rutgers. She has also worked as an editorial and research assistant for publications. In her earlier career, she worked in the software industry as a project manager and a programmer in legacy languages.
WBENA Liaison
“Ukrainian-American soprano Teryn Kuzma is a versatile performer of classical, contemporary, musical theater, and folk repertoire. . . In addition to her singing credits, Teryn is an accomplished instrumentalist on the 55-stringed Ukrainian bandura and is actively engaged in the performance and study of Ukrainian folk music. A founding member and current Concertmaster of the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America, she has performed in various esteemed concert halls and universities across the U.S and Canada over the past ten years. Teryn privately teaches bandura and voice lessons, and has been invited to perform and instruct at several summer bandura workshops since 2014. Her connection to her heritage is highlighted through her devotion to maintaining the art of the bandura and Ukrainian music.”
Irene Kuzma, Current President of WBENA
Christina Hlutkowsky, President-Elect of WBENA
Dr. Marcia Ostashewski, Director of the Centre for Sound Communities and Associate Professor in Ethnomusicology, Cape Breton University, Canada
Dr. Maria Sonevytsky, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Music, Bard College, USA
Nadia Tarnawsky, Singer, Bandurist, Teacher
Dr. Bret Maney, Professor of Digital Humanities, CUNY Graduate Center, USA