Staff

Matt Brim is Professor of Queer Studies in the English department at the College of Staten Island and an affiliate faculty member in the Women’s and Gender Studies M.A. Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Brim is author of the award-winning Poor Queer Studies: Confronting Elitism in the University (2020), as well as James Baldwin and the Queer Imagination (2014). His edited collections include Queer Precarities in and out of Higher Education: Challenging Institutional Structures (with Yvette Taylor and Churnjeet Mahn, 2023), Queer Sharing in the Marketized University (with Churnjeet Mahn and Yvette Taylor, 2023), and Imagining Queer Methods (with Amin Ghaziani, 2019). He has published in venues including Feminist Theory, the Journal of Modern Literature, the Gay and Lesbian Review, and The Baffler, and he wrote an interactive online study guide for teaching the HIV/AIDS documentary film United in Anger: A History of ACT UP.

Jasmina Sinanović teaches at Anthropology, Gender Studies and International Studies Department at the City College by day and is a performing/theatre artist by night. Their research interests are in queer, performance and postcolonial theory as well as the study of the idea of Balkanism. They hold an M.F.A. in Dramaturgy from Stony Brook University and M.A. in Theatre from CUNY Graduate Center via Brooklyn College.

Donna Huaman graduated from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2015 with a BA in International Criminal Justice and minor in Police Studies. There she grew her research interest in intersectional and international LGBTQ human rights issues, with a specific focus in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. She continued her studies in the MA in Liberal Studies (MALS) program with a concentration in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality at the CUNY Graduate Center. She graduated from MALS in 2019.

Kai Custodio is a 2nd generation Andean and Borikén musician and artist. Their work is an exploration of identity and self-expression in healing a legacy of oppression and fragment the ideas of social construct, patriarchy, latin tradition and colonial ideals — questioning what it means to be queer and trans in latin culture and euro-centric society. Kai’s creative work encompasses 15+ years of collaborative work, touring, performing and composing music and art. They were an organizer and curator of an arts and music festival celebrating Indigenous People’s Day.

Syd Baloue graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 with a B.A. in Political Science and pursued public policy research as a German Academic Exchange (DAAD) Scholar and Transatlantic Fellow in Berlin, Germany from 2011-2014 before completing a dual-degree masters in Urban Policy at the Paris Institute for Political Studies and the London School of Economics from 2015-2016. Syd’s background in social, racial and eco-justice policy-based work laid a foundational bedrock for his creative interests. A voracious traveler and active member of the Ballroom Community who is fluent in French and German, writing is the through-line of all his work.After trying to bridge his work in an academic setting and as a cultural producer, Syd left his PhD in Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 2018 as he realized that storytelling through film and television was the best medium to share stories and connect people across continents, cultures and time. As someone rooted in diaspora and interested in traversing its intersecting lines, Syd is excited to create space for the compelling beauty and complexity of different life perspectives in events and programming at CLAGS.

Yana Calou is a genderqueer Brazilian-American writer, artist, and media activist on economic, racial and gender justice issues. Yana is Lambda and VONA Voices fellow, and has performed at the Pop-up Museum of Queer History, La MaMa, Dixon Place, and BAX. They study queer theory and literature at the CUNY Graduate Center, and have led communications and programming for the Retail Action Project, Queer Survival Economies, the Utah Pride Center, GLAAD, Planned Parenthood, and the Women’s Media Center.

Isaiah DuPree is a graduate from Eugene Lang College of The New School. While he is experienced as a provider of direct services and English language training to refugee, asylee and immigrant communities, Isaiah has also worked with grassroots LGBTQ advocacy groups from New York to Rwanda. With a strong commitment to social justice and youth empowerment initiatives, he is very excited to join the staff at CLAGS.

Noam Parness is a gender-queer art lover and intellectually curious human. They received their B.A. in Philosophy and Jewish Studies from CUNY Queens College. Most of Noam’s research interests lie at the intersections of history, art, and activism. Since leaving CLAGS, Noam joined the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art as an Exhibitions Assistant. They have volunteered with a number of arts organizations, such as MIX NYC and the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History.