Meet the Staff

Meet the Women and Gender Studies Staff!

 Dr. Rachel A. Lewis(she/her), Director 

Rachel Lewis earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University and is a Professor in the Women and Gender Studies Program at George Mason University. Prior to joining George Mason, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Transnational Sexualities in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at the University of Connecticut. Her research and teaching interests include transnational feminisms, queer theory, ecofeminism and animal rights, media and cultural studies, race and immigration, human rights, and feminist and queer disability studies. She is currently working on a book length manuscript about women, animals, and the feminization of interspecies care work, tentatively titled, Feline Animacies: Interspecies Care and Solidarity in a Post-Pandemic World.

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!

Alexa Koeckritz (she/her), Lead 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!