New Steering Committee Members

Congratulations to our two newly-elected steering committee members: Kristen Shrewsbury and Courtney Swartzentruber!

Kristen Shrewsbury is a double Duke, earning a BA in 2001 and returning to work as the Learning Centers' Coordinator of English Language Learner Services in 2007. With an intimate understanding of the culture at JMU, she has just resurfaced after spending the last 6 years earning a Ph.D. studying the influence of social conservatism on self-identified lesbian couples in the Shenandoah Valley as they made meaning of the concept of marriage in the lead up to the legalization same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth. Her interest in serving on the steering committee of the Madison Caucus for Gender Equality is to contribute to the critical and on-going advocacy role that the group plays on campus. Kristen teaches in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program housed within the College of Education's Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities department.

Courtney R. C. Swartzentruber is part of the grading faculty in James Madison University’s English Department, where she works with large sections of 200-level literature classes, such as Survey of African American Literature, Gender & the Short Story, and Women’s Literature. Before joining the English Department, she taught part-time in Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication (WRTC). Courtney earned both her B.A. (2006, English major & Communication Studies minor) and M.A. (2012, English) at JMU. In between degrees she worked full-time as a paralegal. She has been a member of the Madison Caucus for Gender Equality since Fall 2012. Courtney lives in Harrisonburg with her partner and enjoys reading, traveling, and conversing with other equality-minded individuals.

Many thanks to Liz Edwards and Howard Lubert for their great leadership over the past few years!