Dr. Treva B. Lindsey
Author and Professor, The Ohio State University
Dr. Treva B. Lindsey is an award-winning author and Professor at The Ohio State University, co-founder of Black Feminist Night School at Zora’s House, and founder of the Transformative Black Feminisms Initiative at OSU. She is a graduate of Oberlin College (B.A. 2004) and Duke University (M.A. 2006, PhD 2010). Her research and teaching interests include African American women’s history & culture, Black feminisms, Black popular/expressive culture, Post-Reconstruction U.S. History, American Studies, U.S. Women’s History, Black sexual politics, violence, and social movements. She is a co-editor of the volume, HipHop Studies and Queer Black Feminism with Gwendolyn Pough and Elaine Richardson. Her most recent single-authored book, America Goddam: Violence, Black Women, and The Struggle for Justice (University of California Press) was awarded “Best of 2022 Nonfiction” distinction from Kirkus Reviews, landed on several additional “Best of 2022” lists, has been a finalist for prestigious national awards, and was described as “required reading for all Americans.” Her first book, Colored No More: Reinventing Black Womanhood in Washington D.C was a Choice 2017 “Outstanding Academic Title.”She has published in Feminist Scholar Online, Biography, The Journal of Pan-African Studies, Souls, African and Black Diaspora, the Journal of African American Studies, African American Review, The Journal of African American History, Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, Urban Education, The Black Scholar, Feminist Studies, and Signs. Dr. Lindsey is also on the editorial board of Feminist Studies and Picturing Black History, a digital public history project.
In Spring 2025, she held the Father Royden B. Davis. S.J. Chair/Distinguished Professorship at Georgetown University. She is the recipient of several awards and fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She was the 2025 Visiting Distinguished Royden Chair at Georgetown University. She was a 2020-2021 ACLS/Mellon Scholars and Society Fellow. She was also the inaugural Equity for Women and Girls of Color Fellow at Harvard University (2016-2017). In 2022, she received the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Mid-Career Faculty Excellence Award. She also received the OSU College Arts and Sciences Professor Faculty Achievement in Diversity in 2019 and 2025. Professor Lindsey also writes for and contributes to outlets such as Time, CNN, Al Jazeera, NBC, BET, Complex, Vox, The Root, Huffington Post, PopSugar, Billboard, Bustle, Teen Vogue, Grazia UK, The Grio, The Washington Post, Women’s Media Center, Zora, and Cosmopolitan.
Jeannette Pai-Espinosa, M.Ed.
President, Justice and Joy National Collaborative (formerly National Crittenton)
Jeannette has since 2007, led Justice and Joy National Collaborative (Justice +Joy) through the reinvention of this 143-year-old intergenerational gender and racial justice nonprofit engaged in advocacy, organizing, capacity building, and research. Her commitment to advocating with and for girls, young women and gender expansive young people of color began as a young activist organizer in the 70’s. Justice + Joy works collaboratively across the country with staff in 5 states and Canada, young advocates in 40+ states and community-based partners in 45+ states.
Her prior experience includes being a partner for ten years at Metropolitan Group, a national social change consulting agency; working in human and civil rights at the city and county levels in Oregon and serving as senior policy advisor on Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts Senior Policy team; founding a nonprofit education program for middle and high school students; and holding leadership roles in student services in public and private four-year universities. Jeannette holds a master’s degree in education in student development theory, counseling and administration. Jeannette currently is a member of the Board of Directors for the Young Women’s Freedom Center, and a member of the Board of Avisors for Future Forward Women. In 2025, she was recognized by the Ms. Foundation for Women with a Women of Vision Award.
Denise Pines
Filmmaker and Health Advocate
Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and health advocate Denise Pines has produced 13 impactful documentaries and served as executive producer and creative consultant for PBS and NPR talk programs. She is co-founder of Women in the Room Productions, a company dedicated to powerful, inclusive storytelling. Pines is President of the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, former president of the Medical Board of California, and a current board member of the Federation of State Medical Boards.
As a sought-after speaker, she has led groundbreaking first-of-their-kind conversations on global stages including the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Economic Forum, SXSW, and CES.
