Meet the 2021 planning committee

Lexie Hampton is a senior at MSU studying Public Policy, while being on the pre-med track, and is minoring in Cities: Environment, Design, and Society. She is one of the Co-Chairs of the Women*s Initiative for Leadership Development Conference as well as the Vice President for Women*s Council. In her free time, she volunteers for the Center for Survivors Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention team, works as a barista at Starbucks, and is an ER medical scribe. In the coming year, she hopes to continue her advocacy for women*s rights and help make MSU a safe and inclusive space for all.

Gigi Shannon (they/them) is one of the co-chairs for WILD as well as a Women*s Student Services intern this semester. They are a senior economics major and this is their third WILD conference that they’ve been on the planning committee for. A fun fact about them is that they have been to seven European countries. They anticipate WILD 2021 to be another successful and exciting event.

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Ashleigh is a sophomore in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. They are currently a part of the Curriculum and Planning subcommittee, where they help to set the learning goals and outcomes of the conference. In their free time, Ashleigh enjoys thrifting and collecting eclectic jewelry. 

Lo Sosinski (they/them) is a WILD Curriculum Committee member for the 2021 conference and served as co-chair for the 2019 conference. They are a first year graduate student in the BioMolecular Sciences Gateway program, studying to get their Ph.D. Recently, Lo adopted 2 kittens who they have trained to sit (with lots of treats). They regret naming them after the antagonists in The Lord of the Rings series, as Smaug and Sauron have taken it upon themselves to destroy Lo’s life.

Makenzie Morales (she/her/hers) is a first-year graduate student in the Student Affairs Administration Master’s program. Makenzie grew up in MetroDetroit and went to Central Michigan University for her undergraduate degree, where she studied International Relations and Spanish. After graduating from Central Michigan University in 2020, she worked at an elementary school with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade special education students in Mount Clemens Community School District. Makenzie’s willingness to work towards a more equitable education system brought her to Michigan State University. During Makenzie’s time at Central Michigan University, she volunteered with various shelters in the Mount Pleasant area, served as the President of an intersectional feminist organization, assisted other social justice-oriented organizations, and organized numerous events for student and the community to enjoy. Makenzie’s dedication to fighting for gender equity has led her to Women*s Student Services, and she can not wait to form new connections and start new projects at MSU!

Catherine is a junior from Pennsylvania studying French. She is on the logistics and operations committee and she is excited to be helping with her first WILD conference. A fun fact about her is that she can play 3 instruments!

Mariam Turkey is a Junior at MSU majoring in Psychology while being on a pre-PA track and minoring in Global Public Health & Epidemiology and Health Promotion. Outside her work as Intern, she is also on the planning committee for The Women’s Initiative for Leadership Development (WILD) Conference. In the upcoming year, she is excited to continue advocating for women*s rights, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. In her work at W*SS, she hopes to help create an empowering community for all on campus. A fun fact about her is that she is bilingual!

Kirstin (she/her/hers) is a 2nd year graduate student in the Student Affairs Administration master’s program. Her favorite Women*s Student Services initiatives are AAUW Start Smart and the WILD Conference. Outside of W*SS, Kirstin serves as one of the graduate assistants for Outreach / MSU Tours. Her long term goal is to be a Dean of Student Affairs at a public institution in Southern California (where she is from). Kirstin is part of the Operations & Logistics and Registration, Budget, & Sponsorships WILD planning committees.

Joslyn is junior in the College of Social Science studying Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science with a focus in Community Governance and Advocacy. She is the Social Media Chair for MSU's Women*s Council, as well as the university chapter of Empowering Women in Law. She also serves as an Enrichment Chair for the Prison Reform Advocacy Group. She is passionate about judicial and criminal justice reform and has plans to attend law school following graduation. She is excited to be on the WILD committee because she is empowered by creating a strong community for women from all different backgrounds and identities.

Felicia Berryman is a current staff member at Michigan State University. She has served previously in the MSU Women’s Advisory Committee for Support Staff (WACSS) and is currently volunteering on the MSU Women’s Networking Association (WNA) planning committee. Felicia thanks the student leaders of WILD for welcoming her. She enjoyed collaborating with them and learning the concerns of the next generation of women leaders

Dr. Heather Shea (she/her) serves as the director of Women*s Student Services and Interim director of The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center. She also has an affiliate faculty appointment with the Student Affairs Administration MA program in the College of Education. As student affairs educator, Heather is committed to reflective and sustainable practice while preparing the next generation of educational leaders to lead from a place of equity and justice. Heather’s career in student affairs spans over two decades at five different campuses and involves experiences in many different functional areas including residence life, multicultural affairs, women, gender, student activities, leadership development, and commuter/non-traditional student services, and LGBTQIA2S+ programs—she identifies as a student affairs generalist. She also identifies as a feminist, mother, cisgender, pansexual, and GenX, white woman.  She is a transplant to the midwest: she grew up in the western U.S., completed her undergraduate degrees and master’s degrees at Colorado State University. Heather completed her PhD at MSU in higher education administration. Her dissertation was a feminist narrative analysis of former college students’ engagement in a feminist play called The Vagina Monologues. In addition to working at MSU, each summer she leads an undergraduate education abroad program called Learning, Culture, and Technology in Europe. Outside of campus, Heather loves to camp, hike, run, and garden. She is an avid reader, mom to two teenagers, and loves to travel to National Parks.