Soma Chaudhuri
Co-Director of Global Research, Outreach, & Engagement (she/her)
Dr. Soma Chaudhuri is responsible for promoting gender-related research and outreach across the university and facilitating interdisciplinary global research and engagement among faculty teams. She also develops and supports strategic domestic and international partnership initiatives in the areas of gender and women’s studies and foster partnerships with similarly situated programs around the globe.
Dr. Chaudhuri is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology. Her work spans areas on gender, development, violence, witch hunts, and social movements, with specific connections to violence against women. Her research has been funded by several grants including those from the National Science Foundation and Social Science Research Council. She earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from Vanderbilt University.
Aminda Smith
Co-Director of Academic Programs, Outreach, & Engagement (she/her)
In her role, Aminda Smith is responsible for developing and managing GenCen’s academic programs, leading international academic initiatives, and facilitating outreach and engagement across campus, and the larger local and global communities. She supports the creation of opportunities for students to receive education in women’s and gender studies, in classrooms and through immersive experiences such as internships and education abroad programs.
Aminda Smith is Associate Professor in the Department of History. Her research considers the history of radicalism and revolution, with a particular focus on the gendered social and cultural histories of Chinese Communism. Her work has ben supported by several grants, including from the Fulbright program and the American Council of Learned Societies. Aminda Smith earned her PhD from Princeton University.
Dr. Portia T. Loeto
Visiting Post Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Portia Loeto is a Gender Studies Lecturer, Consultant, and Researcher in the Department of Educational Foundations at the University of Botswana. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Gender and Cultural Studies from the University of Sydney and a MEd in Gender Studies from the University of Botswana. Her professional and research experiences encompass the broad interdisciplinary areas of gender studies, cultural studies, and teacher education studies, including Botswana’s legal and police systems and the loopholes that fail victims of gender-based violence.
During her post-doctoral fellowship at MSU, Loeto will be working with GenCen Co-Director of Global Research Dr. Soma Chaudhuri as well as Dr. Godisang Mookodi on a large-scale project that studies the issue of femicide in Botswana in the context of interventions and legal challenges. In addition, she will give public lectures and collaborate with interdisciplinary scholars across campus on topics of mutual interest like rape, femicide, race, and colorism in Botswana. Loeto’s visit is cohosted by GenCen, the Department of Sociology, and the Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence, and is sponsored by the African Futures Research Leadership Program from the Alliance for African Partnership.
Dr. Godisang Mookodi
Senior Visiting Scholar
Dr. Godisang Mookodi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Botswana. She joined the Department in 1993 after working in the Women's Affairs Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs and served as Head of the Department of Sociology from 2009 to 2012. Mookodi has extensive teaching and research experience in the areas of Gender, Sexualities, Feminism and Masculinities, and holds a keen interest in gender research using qualitative research methods. She is also an eager social activist who engages regularly in community activities around gender equality, LGBTI rights, disabled women and youth activism.
Her current research project is entitled “Young Women’s Leadership on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Universities, ”a regional feminist university-based research action network of seven universities that is coordinated by the African Gender Institute (AGI) at the University of Cape Town. During her visit to MSU, Mookodi will be working with GenCen Co-Director of Global Research Dr. Soma Chaudhuri as well as Dr. Portia T. Loeto on a large-scale project that studies the issue of femicide in Botswana in the context of interventions and legal challenges. Mookodi’s visit is cohosted by GenCen, the Department of Sociology, and the Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence, and is sponsored by the African Futures Research Leadership Program from the Alliance for African Partnership.
Pat Arnold
Assistant Director of Academic Programs, Undergrad/Grad Advisor
(they/them)
Pat Arnold (they/them) is finishing their 5th year with GenCen and the Women’s and Gender Studies program, and is now entering the role of Assistant Director of Academic Programs. In this role, they will continue to advise all undergraduate and graduate students in GenCen programs, teach and design core WGS courses, and support interns, but will also be helping lead the creation of new educational initiatives that promote global gender and LGBTQIA2S+ diversity and representation open to all students at MSU. From seeing the impact that GenCen’s experiential learning programs have had on previous generations of students – from our sexual politics in Amsterdam and gender and feminism in London summer programs, to the women and development in Malawi internship – Pat is excited to find new pathways for students to gain that global experience and translate it to their research, career goals, and advocacy efforts while at MSU and beyond. Entering this role also opens greater possibilities for collaboration across GenCen’s community of affiliates as well as with the Center’s new research team and their programs in the Global South.
Alaina Bur
Assistant Director of Global Research (she/her)
Dr. Alaina Bur first became involved in GenCen’s community as a doctoral student pursuing a specialization in Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change (GJEC). Joining the team with a PhD in sociology, she brings over ten years of experience working on diverse research teams in Africa to evaluate the social impacts of environmental policies. Her own research investigates how international organizations’ goal of “empowerment” has reshaped women and marginalized communities’ role in managing local forest and water resources in Kenya. Dr. Bur will join GenCen’s co-director, Dr. Soma Chaudhuri, in the mission to expand the center’s capacity to provide research and outreach training as well as grant support for affiliates and global partner organizations. Dr. Bur will help lead the center in its goal to build a hub for research, outreach, and training on gender and sexuality with GenCen affiliates and partner organizations in sub-Saharan Africa.
Kara MacKenzie
Office Coordinator, Communications Manager (she/her)
In her role, Kara MacKenzie is responsible for creation and distribution of promotional materials, maintaining GenCen's online presence, event planning and facilitation, and other communications or day-to-day office tasks for the GenCen. She graduated from MSU with her BA in Professional and Public Writing and Women's and Gender Studies in 2023. She served as an Undergraduate Learning Assistant and Communications Intern at GenCen as a student and is grateful to be a permanent member of the GenCen team. In her free time, Kara enjoys reading, spending time in the sun, and listening to K-pop.
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