Meet the Staff

Meet the Women and Gender Studies Staff!

Dr. Anu Aneja (she/her), Director

Anu Aneja has joined George Mason as Associate Professor and Director of Women and Gender Studies and is excited to work with faculty and students to lead this vibrant, diverse and welcoming program! She has most recently taught Women's Studies and Humanities courses at the Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi, and formerly at the Ohio Wesleyan University in Ohio. She was a student of French at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, and received a Master's and PhD in Comparative Literature from Penn State University.

She has research interests in the areas of transnational feminist theory and aesthetics, in particular their inventive crossings across South Asia and the west; contemporary French, francophone and Indian literatures; feminist perspectives on mothering; and feminist pedagogy. Her monograph entitled Feminist Theory and the Aesthetics Within: A perspective from South Asia is forthcoming. Her publications include two edited collections - Women’s and Gender Studies in India: Crossings (2019), and Gender & Distance Education: Indian and International Contexts (2019); and a co-authored book, Embodying Motherhood: Perspectives from Contemporary India (2016). She currently serves as Area Advisor, 'Gender and Education’ for the digital edition of Oxford Bibliographies, and as a member of the editorial board of the academic journal, Gender & Education.

She enjoys sculpting in clay, creative writing, beach vacations and reading for pleasure, and dreams of making more time for all of these in future lifetimes.

 

Holly Mason Badra (she/her), Associate Director

Holly has joined WGST as our Associate Director. She received her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from GMU in 2017. While pursuing her MFA, she served as a tutor in the Writing Center and Coordinator of the Weekly Graduate Write-Ins. Her teaching experience includes elementary, middle, high school, and college Composition, Humanities, Literature, and Creative Writing classes. She is originally from North Carolina, where she received her BA in English (with a Minor in Dance) from UNC-Greensboro.

Holly also serves as the staff advisor for the GMU Kurdish Student Organization. And works with NVWP Director Leslie Goetsch coordinating the Mason Writers in the Schools program that allows MFA Creative Writing students the opportunity to teach in local grade schools. She is a member of President Washington's Anti-Racism & Inclusive Excellence Task Force. And is a part of a new CHSS working group dedicated to Staff Professional Development and the inaugural CHSS Inclusive Excellence (IE) advisory council. She is also the Executive Committee Secretary of the GMU LGBTQ+ Faculty/Staff Alliance.

Holly is the recipient of the 2022 Rose Pascarell and Ric Chollar Professional Service Award, which honors a staff person who collaborates to serve, support, and advance efforts for the LGBTQ+ community at Mason.

 

Deena Owens (She/her), Center Admin 

Deena is a graduate student in English with a concentration in Folklore Studies. She has a BA in Art History from the University of Arkansas where she also worked for Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts. Her research interests include the intersections of ethnomusicology and gender performance, which she plans to explore through the shape-note singing tradition while at GMU. In true Sagittarius fashion, Deena loves new experiences, especially if they involve travel!

Artemis Simmons (They/She), Graduate Assistant 

Artemis is a grad student working on a MA in History and a MAIS in Women and Gender Studies. They've been at Mason for over five years and got their BA in History here. Her research interests are in Queer Theory and Early American Intersectional History. Outside of school, they love horror, fantasy, and cartoons

 

 

Gray Davis (She/They), Lead Center Mentor

Gray is a 4th-year biology student at GMU. They want to use their degree to focus on wildlife conservation. Outside caring for animals, Gray has always been passionate about rectifying inequality because of race, gender, sexuality, religion, and economic status nationwide and around the globe. With that in mind, they joined the WGST team in order to pursue local efforts on-campus. In her free time, she likes to be a cat parent, watch horror movies, cook and bake, and hit the gym. 

 

Alexa Koeckritz (she/her), Center Mentor

Alexa is an undergraduate student at Mason studying History with a concentration in Digital History. With her degree, she hopes to work at a museum and make history education more publicly accessible and engaging. Alexa is especially interested in women's and LGBTQ history, environmental justice, and human rights advocacy. 
She loves iced tea and bears, and you can find her listening to silly music, taking care of her houseplants, scrapbooking, and designing her upcoming tattoos in her free time. 

Alana Gray (they/she/He), Center Mentor

Gray is a third-year undergraduate majoring in English with a concentration in cultural studies. As a student and writer, they’re passionate about critical race theory, women and gender studies, and queer studies along with various areas of African American literature. They love writing, researching, and sharing what they’ve learned with other people. In addition to this, Gray loves to work with students across majors and disciplines and learn about the areas that they’re passionate about studying. They’ve lived in Prince William County their entire life with their best friend and loyal orange cat, Goose. Outside of classes, they can be found enjoying video games, anime, cosplaying with their friends, and obsessing over all things pink.

 

 Noah Andrade, (He/Him), Center Mentor

Hi, I’m Noah! I am a sophomore at Mason majoring in Criminology and minoring in Chinese. I’m interested in going into law in the future. I have the cutest child in the world, aka my kitty-baby Chiquita, she might be a cat but she is my daughter. My favorite animal are cheetahs and I love space

Stephanie Martinez (she/her), Lead Program Advisor

Stephanie is a junior who is studying English with a concentration in linguistics. She is studying to be a Speech Therapist. She is interested in Women's and LGBTQ+ rights along with Latin American history. She loves horror movies, Dunkin Coffee, Sanrio, reading, and writing. She also enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Buddy and Jack. 

 

Ramya Karthik (she/her), Program Advisor

Hi, my name is Ramya Karthik! I am currently a sophomore majoring in Criminology law and society. I have two puppies their names are Magnus and Trixie! I am also a big-time foodie and love trying new delicacies. 

Sonia Chen, (They/Them) Program Advisor

Sonia is a sophomore studying Criminology and Anthropology! They have two cats back home in NM that are the cutest and silliest. Though cats are his favorite animal, they love many animals and enjoy collecting cute things! She likes listening to music, reading, watching cat videos, and research! Currently he is researching decarbonization policies and strategies as she is part of Mason's debate team, and that is what this year's topic is (wish me luck)

William Barker (they/them), Program Advisor

I'm a Public Administration senior focusing on public policy, science governance, social justice, and international relations. Some of my favorite subjects to explore are science fiction, vexillology, photography, and music!