All events held in the International Commons, University Capitol Centre room 1117 unless otherwise noted. Schedule subject to change.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Bjørn Smestad is a professor of mathematics education at Oslo Metropolitan University in Oslo, Norway. He has worked in teacher education for 25 years and has regularly been teaching on LGBT issues. He is currently in charge of the masters program in mathematics education at OsloMet, where issues of identity and social justice are stressed. In 2015, he was one of the organizers of a European Pestalozzi workshop on inclusive sexuality education, with teachers from 15 European countries. He has published research on diversity in mathematics education and in education in general, for instance on the LGBT issues in Norwegian Textbooks.

Corey K. Creekmur is an associate professor at the University of Iowa in the Departments of Cinematic Arts; English; and Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies. His teaching and research focus on representations of gender and sexuality in popular culture, especially in American and Hindi cinema and in comics. He was recently president of (and was a founding member of) the Comics Studies Society, and last year co-organized a year-long Mellon Sawyer Seminar on Racial Reckoning Through Comics with support from the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies. He is also the editor of the Comics Culture book series from Rutgers University Press.

Daniel Arzola (he/they) is a Venezuelan artist and LGBTQ+ activist, renowned for his "Artivism," using art to address human rights, diversity, and equality. His project "No Soy Tu Chiste" gained global recognition and went viral during 2013-2014 for challenging stereotypes against the LGBTQ+ community. Madonna noticed and featured Arzola's work in her Art for Freedom project in 2013. Arzola's art is exhibited worldwide, and he has a permanent display at the Carlos Jáuregui station on the Buenos Aires Subway, the first LGBTQ+ subway station in Latin America. Beyond art, Arzola actively promotes his theory of "Artivism" through conferences and workshops at universities in Venezuela, Mexico, the United States, and Canada. His colorful and bold style has made him a prominent figure in LGBTQ+ film festivals globally since 2015, designing posters for festivals in the Netherlands, Chile, Uruguay, Albania, Kosovo, and the Faroe Islands. In 2017, Arzola was awarded a Trailblazer Honors Award from Logo Tv and VH1. Currently residing in Minneapolis, he serves as a senior graphic designer for the University of Minnesota. www.danielarzola.com

Jacob Priest

Julia Sinclair-Palm (she/they) is an associate professor in childhood and youth studies in the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. They completed their doctorate in education in the Faculty of Education at York University. She has an MA in sexuality studies from San Francisco State University and a BS in psychology. Her research with young people carries the trace of this interdisciplinary history—across their work, they consider how conceptualizations of children and youth are tied to concerns about violence, risk, and mental health often at the exclusion of other, more complex narratives of identity, gender, and belonging. She examines how young people forge new identities, imagine futures and navigate structural inequalities in the midst of these larger, and sometimes restrictive narratives about childhood and youth. Their work has been published in the Journal of LGBT Youth, the Journal of Canadian Studies, and the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. They also co-edited (with Jen Gilbert) a special of Sex Education on “Trans Youth in Education” that was published as a book by Routledge.

Kathryn Heffner is a post-graduate researcher at the University of Kent completing her dissertation on feminist fan cultures in the post-war era. Her research examines the history of gender and sexuality, participatory cultures, and science and technology studies. She is the winner of the 2022 Peter Nicholls Prize for Best Essay in Science Fiction Studies and a former judge for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Øystein Skundberg (b. 1969) is an associate professor of pedagogy at Oslo Metropolitan University in Oslo, Norway. He has worked as a teacher in Norwegian preschool, primary and secondary school, and in the Faculty of Teacher education since 2014. He is in charge of the course in special education as a part of the masters program, and teaches a range of subjects related to school and preschool at all levels of teacher education. Skundberg has lectured, researched and published on topics such as children’s sexuality, children’s gender identity, LGBTQ issues, gender theory, sexuality education, child rearing, inclusion and diversity and historical conceptions of sexuality. His research interests focus on how cultural, societal and historical factors influence and shape ideas about gender norms, normality, sexuality and identity. Among his publications are studies on gender roles and sexuality in historical texts, conceptions of age-appropriate sexual behavior in preschool children, the theoretical understanding of play in educational literature, the historical uses of punishment and discipline in schools, and categorization of people with intellectual disability.

Makiko Kasai (she/her) works at the Naruto University of Education in Tokushima, Japan as a professor and the director of Student Guidance and Support Center. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a PhD. Her research interests include counseling and clinical psychology with psychoanalytic self psychology orientation and practice of gender and sexual minorities. As well as cyberbullying, sexuality education, and LGBTQ+ friendly counselor training. She serves as the executive director of the Japanese Society of Clinical Psychology and as a national delegate to the Japanese Society of Clinical Psychologists. Makiko recently published a book in English titled, SOGI Minority and School Life in Asian Contexts.

Melanie Nathan (she/her) practiced law in South Africa before immigrating to the United States. Renowned for her human rights advocacy, she consults and speaks globally on human rights, LGBTQI equality and issues impacting LGBTQI asylum seekers and refugees. She is the executive director of the African Human Rights Coalition, the only LGBTQI+ immigrant and refugee led organization dedicated to advocacy and humanitarian services, for LGBTQI+ Africans in forced displacement. She is a country conditions expert witness, providing testimony in the U.S. and global courts for LGBTQI asylum seekers from 20 different African countries. Nathan publishes a popular advocacy BLOG, O-Blog-Dee-O-Blog-DA, winning the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association Award for Excellence in Blogging in 2019.  Her career highlights include a last-minute stay of execution in a death sentence case in South Africa, the introduction by Senator Dianne Feinstein of a Private Bill into the United States Congress on behalf of a binational same-sex partner about to be deported, and testimony for U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the Uniting American Families Act (2009). Melanie led a thematic working table for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva (UNHCR) at the 2021 UNHCR-UN IE SOGI Global Roundtable on Protection and Solutions for LGBTQI+ People in Forced Displacement. She presented the conclusions for all thematic workshops at the Closing Plenary. She was the closing keynote speaker for World Pride Summit on Refugees in Malmö, Sweden, 2021. She also presented on San Francisco Pride Main-stage 2022, orchestrating, and introducing the historic Pride greeting from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Dr. Filippo Grandi. She is a former Marin County Human Rights Commissioner and past Vice President on San Francisco Pride Board. She is the recipient of several awards and honors. Nathan lives with her partner in Philadelphia and is the mom of two daughters.  www.AfricanHRC.org www.oblogdee.blog/about www.melnathan.com

Parking – The Capitol Street parking ramp is located at 220 S. Capitol Street, with entrances on both Capitol Street and Clinton Street. Parking is $1/hour and the first hour is free. The parking ramp is connected to the University Capitol Centre.

University Capitol Centre location – The University Capitol Centre (UCC) sits on the corner of Burlington and Clinton Streets and is connected to the Capitol Street parking ramp. Linked is a map of campus.

Bus Service – The University Capitol Centre is located adjacent to the Downtown Interchange bus stop. A number of University of Iowa (CAMBUS) and city buses frequent this location.

International Commons - room 1117 – The International Commons is located in the northwest corner of the UCC. The address is:

201 S. Clinton Street
1111 University Capitol Centre (UCC)
Iowa City, Iowa 52240

From the parking ramp, you will walk to the far end (the north end) of the building. A convenient ‘marker’ on your way to the IP Office is the coffee shop called T Spoons near the escalator. Once you pass T Spoons, look to your left to see the glass doors labeled INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS. Go through the two sets of doors and the International Commons, room 1117 is on your left. Linked is a map of the UCC building.

Visiting from out of town? Below are some highlights for places to eat, things to do, and hotel options close by. If you are a presenter, refer to your event contact for details on what meals are provided and what hotel you are staying in.
 

Places to Eat
For places to eat located inside the University Capitol Centre, visit the Old Capitol Town Center's directory.

For places to eat in downtown Iowa City, visit the Iowa City Downtown District food and drink guide.

For more options, visit Think Iowa City's restaurant guide.
 

Hotels
The Iowa House Hotel is conveniently located on the University of Iowa Campus inside the Iowa Memorial Union, overlooking the Iowa River.

For hotels within walking distance of the University Capitol Centre (UCC), visit the Iowa City Downtown District hotel guide.

For more options, visit Think Iowa City's hotel guide.

Shopping
Shops located within walking distance of campus can be found on the Iowa City Downtown District shopping guide.

Located 5 miles from campus is the Coral Ridge Mall.
 

Things to Do
Looking for events and activities happening in the area? Visit the Think Iowa City visitor guide.