Spring '25 Funded Grants and Events

Li Hou - Graduate Student
"Cultural Mosaic" is a vibrant initiative designed to leverage the rich cultural and linguistic diversity found within UMass University Village. This program will foster a deeper understanding and appreciation among residents through digital storytelling, art exhibitions, and a series of language exchange workshops. The project will provide a platform for students and families from various cultural backgrounds to share their heritage and learn from each other. 

Brennan Tierney - Staff
This project commemorates the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War by offering a series of engaging events, culminating in an in-person public event with Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, a renowned Vietnamese poet and author. The project is structured around three webinars and a capstone public lecture, each exploring critical aspects of the war and its aftermath. Panelists include scholars from nine universities in the U.S. and Vietnam, NGO directors in both countries, journalists, and activists.

Michael Sakamoto - Faculty
The Fine Arts Center will host nationally acclaimed, Pulitzer Finalist-awarded theater artist, Kristina Wong, in February 2025 for a one-week educational, community engagement, and performance residency. She will interface with on- and off-campus foodbanks, charities, and educational programs. The performance addresses the ongoing epidemic of food insecurity in the US through an Asian American feminist lens. The work continues Wong’s examination of contemporary US society’s failing public health system and social compact through real life narratives of mutual aid campaigns that began with her last acclaimed touring play, “Kristina Wong: Sweatshop Overlord”. 

Georgia Brabec - Graduate Student
This symposium will offer an interdisciplinary and intersectional reflection on disability and the arts, examining how accessibility—or the lack thereof—shapes artistic production, scholarship, and interpretation. By bringing together scholars, artists, and advocates, the event will foster critical discussions on the role of disability in creative expression and cultural institutions. Featuring Andrew Leland, a Northampton-based author whose 2024 memoir The Country of the Blind was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, exploring themes of blindness, perception, and access. 

Stephen Fernandez - Staff
"Space to Breathe" is an Afrofuturist documentary about a future without police and prisons.  The goal of the screening is to bring together diverse segments of the community, from around the campus, to engage in discussions of our current state of carceral-mindedness, to envision and share thoughts about a future without police and prisons, and to discuss paths to get to a future as depicted in the documentary. 

Yokaira Lopez-Tifa - Graduate Student
This two-day event strengthens connections between UMass and local communities by supporting immigrant families through cultural exchange and dialogue. Activities will include engagement with multilingual literature, discussions on immigration and education, and the development of strategies to better support immigrant communities. The program fosters inclusion, understanding, and collaboration among students, faculty, families, and community leaders. 

Michael Medeiros - Graduate Student
Spill the Tea: Democracy Dialogues is a two-part community engagement project featuring shared meals, poetry, and conversation around creativity, wellbeing, and community. Led by poet CAConrad and community wellbeing expert Tony Chambers, each event invites reflection and dialogue on vital social themes. Handmade ceramic teawares, created for the gatherings and tied to each topic, will be gifted to participants as a thank-you for their involvement. 

Ivor Havkin - Undergraduate Student
Movements Across Oceans: Lessons from Anti-Apartheid Histories is a speaker series exploring global activism and resistance. It features Itumeleng Moabi, a South African organizer from the Fees Must Fall movement; Michael Kwet, sociologist and author of Digital Degrowth; and UMass alumnus Charles Bagley, former anti-apartheid student activist and investigative journalist. The series connects past and present struggles, highlighting connections between student organizing, global inequality, and digital justice. 

Edwin Everheart - Faculty
The Festival of Languages and Dialects is a two-day celebration at UMass Amherst showcasing the diversity of language through performances and presentations by storytellers, poets, musicians, comedians, scholars, and more. Highlighting indigenous, immigrant, regional, and minority languages and dialects, the festival fosters dialogue and connection across cultures. With two full days of concurrent sessions, a campus parade, and a closing ceremony, the event uplifts linguistic communities, connects UMass with the broader public, and sparks curiosity about language and culture across campus.

Esra Nizami - Graduate Student
A two-part event examining the impact of the U.S. retreat from global leadership on international development, education, and non-profit sectors. Focusing on fields like International Education, Public Health, and Public Policy, the event will explore how these shifts affect academic research, professional work, and communities in the global South, fostering critical discussions on the implications for U.S. engagement in global issues. 

Uma Kasichainula - Graduate Student
This festival will foster conversations on disability justice, accessibility, and inclusion at UMass, focusing on the intersections of disability, race, gender, and sexuality. The event aims to build connections between disabled and nondisabled members of the community and support the creation of a cultural center for disabled students, staff, and faculty. Inspired by the 2021 Campus Climate Survey, which highlighted feelings of exclusion among disabled individuals, the festival seeks to promote understanding and strengthen community ties. 

Angelica Canlas-Castro - Staff
The Peer Dialogue Facilitators (PDF) program at UMass Amherst trains students to lead inclusive, reflective discussions. After a successful Conversation Commons series, the Play & Process with PDFs: Peer-hosted Dialogic Game Night series will be launched in Spring and Fall 2025. This series combines tactile games like Jenga and Bingo with meaningful dialogue on global and domestic issues, creating a relaxed yet engaging environment for students to discuss important topics and connect with each other. 

Morgan Taejin-Kim - Graduate Student 
Students will have the opportunity to visit the Massachusetts Statehouse at Beacon Hill to meet with legislators and voice their concerns on issues such as rising tuition, financial aid, adjunct faculty treatment, and the taxation of private university endowments. This visit will give students a firsthand understanding of the legislative process and how they can influence policy decisions that impact education. By speaking directly with legislators, students can demonstrate the power of personal advocacy in driving change. The event also provides a unique learning experience about government and policy-making while furthering PHENOM’s mission to make higher education more affordable and equitable for all.