Leadership & Fellows

Co-Director

Alex Madva

His work explores the intersections of social science, ethics, and policy. He co-wrote the forthcoming Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change and co-edited An Introduction to Implicit Bias: Knowledge, Justice, and the Social Mind and The Movement for Black Lives: Philosophical Perspectives. He won an NEH writing award for faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions to write a book on misinformation and belief in 2025, and collaborates in the production of CCEP’s student-driven podcast.

Co-Director

Rachel Tamar Van

Specializing in American merchant capitalism in the late 18th to early 19th centuries with a particular emphasis on family capitalism and Americans in the Pacific. She is author of the forthcoming Family Capital: Yankee Merchant Networks and the Shaping of the Global Economy. She teaches Digital History at CPP, including regular collaboration with the WikiEdu Foundation and supervising student podcasts and documentaries in oral history, family and genealogical history, and more.

Associate Professor of Communication

Lauren Furey

She advises The Poly Post student newspaper and Bronco Guide magazine, as well as co-leads a Media and Politics Research Team with undergraduate students. Outside of teaching, she researches the portrayal of women in politics by the news media and in popular culture and co-hosts a podcast featuring interviews with women politicians called The Pink State, which won an award of excellence at the 2024 Broadcast Education Association’s Media Arts Festival.

Associate Professor of History

Robert Lewis

Specializing in modern European history, with a focus on France, urban history, and the history of sport. He is the author of The Stadium Century: Sport, Spectatorship and Society in Modern France. His new research digitizes war-related materials, and he supervises students’ DH projects oriented around the global history of the First World War.

Assistant Professor of Communication

Denisse Vasquez-Guevara

As a science and health communication researcher, she has worked in multidisciplinary research on child nutrition, COVID-19 prevention, chronic illness management, urban accessibility, and sustainable foods, creating educational resources via online platforms. She was included in the Ecuadorean Women in Science Hall by REMCI and awarded as Top Faculty Instructor at the University of Cuenca’s School of Communication. At the DHC, through The Scicom Toolbox, she will provide public engagement tools and training through social media and in-person science communication for culturally diverse audiences.

Katie Priest

Katie Priest is a Double Major in Philosophy and Communication and a writer and audio editor for The Poly Post’s podcasts. She was a 2023-2024 CCEP Ethics & Policy Student Fellow and winner of the Philosophy Department’s Pai award for Outstanding Service. She leads workshops on podcast editing for the DHC, including classroom visits.

Pedro Rosales

He is a Sociology Major and a founding member and Video Editor for the Criminology Media Lab. His research for the lab was featured in the 15th Lowell Overton Undergraduate Research Symposium. He is also one of the lead student organizers for Bat Night. He leads workshops on video editing for the DHC, including classroom visits

Tam Tran

She is a Major in Computer Science, with minors in Data Science and Mathematics, demonstrating an interests in research and the potential for AI to enhance human capabilities and transform industries. She is the DHC’s Web Editor. She formerly served in this role for the TOM Department. In 2019, she worked as an Editor and Designer for Vietmedia TV.