Gender+ Justice Initiative
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Research Colloquium 2025

A group photo of colloquium panelists and attendees standing in front of several colorful pieces of art on canvases hung on the wall behind them.

The Gender+ Justice Initiative presents its seventh Research Colloquium!

Friday, October 3, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 6:15 PM – Reception after 5:15 PM | Maria & Alberto De La Cruz Art Gallery, Georgetown University Main Campus

On Friday, October 3, 2025, the Georgetown University Gender+ Justice Initiative hosted its seventh edition of its signature event, the Annual Research Colloquium. Faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from across Georgetown and neighboring universities to shared their work and joined in conversations on issues of gender, racial, and economic justice from an intersectional perspective.

To view video recordings of the three panels, please email us for access.

Program

12 PM – 12:15 PM (15 min)

Introduction by G+JI Team

12:15 PM – 1:50 PM (95 min)

Moderated by Halimat Somotan, Assistant Professor in African Studies, Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service, G+JI Fellow 25’

Kirtana Ananth (she/her), M.D Candidate, Georgetown University School of Medicine | Legal Consequences as Limiting Factors to Seeking Help for Substance Use Disorders During Pregnancy

Heather Bradford (she/her), Assistant Professor and Assistant Program Director, NM/WHNP and WHNP Programs, Mary L. and Raymond T. Holden Endowed Professor in Maternal and Infant Health, Georgetown University Berkley School of Nursing | The Power of Language in Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare: Harms and Opportunities

Sherie Gayle (she/her), Ph.D Candidate in Theological & Religious Studies and Residential Minister, Georgetown University | Sayyid Qutb’s Prophetic Queen: Reimagining Bilqis through a Gendered and Postcolonial Lens

Myka Held (she/her), LLM 25’ and Teaching Fellow in the Domestic Violence Clinic, Georgetown University Law Center | Myth Making and Spirit Breaking: How Conventional Rape Narratives Adversely Shape Judicial Language

Paulina Macias Ortega (she/her), LL.M. 25’ in National and Global Health Law, O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center | Challenging Prenatal Personhood: Mexico’s Evolving Path to Reproductive Justice

1:50 PM – 2:00 PM (10 min)

2:00 PM – 3:25 PM (85 min)

Moderated by Alyssa Newman (she/her) Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology, College of Arts & Sciences and Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, G+JI Fellow 25’

Tuesday Barnes (she/her), Ph.D Candidate in Applied Sociology and Social Justice, Morgan State University | We Do Language: How Black Women Redefine Black Labor through Poetry

Rachel Hanebutt (she/her), Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Thrive Center for Children, Families, & Communities, Dept. of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center | Co-Designing Digital Boundaries: A Feminist Approach to Digital Wellness for Middle School Girls

DeJa Love (she/her), Ph.D Candidate in Applied Sociology and Social Justice, Morgan State University and CEO of The Black Women’s Wellness Agency, Inc. | “Where Can We Rest?”: Reclaiming Wellness, Agency, and Space for Black Women through an Intersectional Lens of Spatial Justice

Amittia Parker (she/her), Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Senior Training and Technical Training Associate, Research and Evaluation, Program Manager, Thrive Center for Children, Families, & Communities, Georgetown University Medical Center | “How Can This Be Less Stressful”: Navigating Supports for Mental Health

3:25 PM – 3:45 PM (20 min)

3:45 PM – 5:10 PM (85 min)

Moderated by Jennifer Boum Make, Assistant Professor, Dept. of French & Francophone Studies and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences 

Lauren Arrington (she/her), Assistant Professor, Susan H. Mayer Endowed Professor in Health Equity, Georgetown University Berkley School of Nursing and G+JI Fellow 25′ | Scaling Up Group Antenatal Care in Zanzibar through a bi-directional training partnership that centers the expertise of local communities

Heba Ghannam (she/her), Ph.D Candidate in Anthropology, Adjunct Faculty, College of Arts and Sciences, American University | The Egyptian Digital Housewife: Gendered Labor, Surveillance Capitalism, and the Tech. Bro-Ligarchy

Syeda Haleema Hasan (she/her), Research Fellow, Georgetown University Institute for Women, Peace and Security | The One in Three, The Three in Four: Intimate Partner Violence and Women’s Employment in Pakistan

Martina Thorne (she/her), Assistant Teaching Professor of Spanish, Georgetown University and G+JI Fellow 22′ | Naming the River: Kukama Women and the Ecofeminist Struggle for Legal Personhood

Erin Twohig (she/her), Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Georgetown University | Et les filles aussi/And girls too: Gendered Bodies in French Football

5:15 PM – 6:15 PM

Image Gallery

Three people standing in a circle and laughing. The woman on the right laughs and places a hand on another person's elbow.
A woman standing behind a podium with a microphone. She is speaking and gesturing a hand up in the air to the right.
Two woman having a conversation among a crowd. The woman on the left gestures with her hands in front of her. The woman on the right has her arms crossed in front of her.
A woman standing behind a podium with a microphone. She is speaking and looking to the right.
Two women having a discussion among a crowd of other people. The woman on the left is wearing a white name tag and is laughing. A man stands to the right, looking towards them.
Audience members sit in rows, looking to the right.
Two women standing and talking among other workshop participants. The woman on the right is smiling with her hands behind her back, and the woman on the left has her back turned to the camera.
Five women standing in a group. Two womens' faces are visible, and they smile while talking to each other.
Six panelists sit in front of a projector with a white screen reading "Gender+ Justice Research Colloquium 2025. Panel 3: Communities, Ecologies, and Feminist Resistance." The woman in the middle is holding a microphone, and the other panelists look towards her.
Six women standing in a line and smiling. Behind them are two large purple and orange pieces of artwork hanging on the wall. From left to right: Heather Bradford, Sherie Gayle, Paulina Macias Ortega, Halimat Somotan, Myka Held, Kirtana Ananth.
Five women standing in a line and smiling. Behind them are two large purple and orange pieces of artwork hanging on the wall. From left to right: DeJa Love, Alyssa Newman, Tuesday Barnes, Rachel Hanebutt, Amittia Parker.
Six women standing in a line and smiling. Behind them are two large purple and orange pieces of artwork hanging on the wall. From left to right: Jennifer Boum Make, Erin Twohig, Heba Ghannam, Martina Thorne, Syeda Haleema Hasan, Lauren Arrington.