Come learn about American Studies at the Williams American Studies alumni event

Ever wonder what you can do with an American Studies degree?

The Williams College American Studies Program welcomes back five of its talented alums during the program’s 80th anniversary year:

Stevon Cook (’08) runs a private strategic advising and consulting practice focused on education policy and DEI strategic planning. He served as President of the San Francisco Board of Education in 2018 and 2019; during his tenure, he passed policies on K-12 Black Studies, reforming school assignment and expanding access to college courses for all students. For over four years, he was the CEO of MIssion Bit, a nonprofit focused on ending generational poverty through coding education. He also hosted a podcast called Cook on Monday Morning, which interviewed leaders across a variety of industries. Cook is a fourth-generation San Franciscan and graduate of public schools and currently lives in San Francisco.

Lauren Shuffleton Drago (’12) was an AMST and English double major. She is the Assistant Director of Planning for Lynn, MA, a vibrant, arts-obsessed gateway city navigating complex social and economic challenges. She previously worked for the city of Somerville, MA’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. While at Williams, she was active with affordable housing advocacy in Williamstown. After graduation, Drago worked at Bain and Co. as the Global Editorial Coordinator and then earned her master’s degree in urban and environmental planning from Tufts University. She lives in Reading, MA.

Naomi Jackson (’02) is Assistant Professor of English at Rutgers University-Newark and the author of a critically acclaimed novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill (Penguin Books, 2015), which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize. Jackson studied fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and. received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town on a Fulbright Fellowship. Jackson’s writings have appeared in Harper’s, The Washington Post,  Poets & Writers, among others. She is the recipient of numerous  residencies and fellowships. She lives in the Bronx.

Monica Torres (‘13) is a digital journalist and the senior work/life reporter for HuffPost who covers the U.S. workforce and management trends. She was previously the lead reporter at Ladders, where she covered the U.S. workforce, management trends, career anxieties, and the future of work. Her writing on technology and politics has been featured in Quartz, Fusion, and Real Life magazine. She is a graduate of NYU’s Studio 20: New Media and Digital Innovation program and is a member of Poynter’s Diversity in Digital Leadership inaugural class. In her off time, she writes fiction. She lives in Brooklyn.

Tyler Tsay (‘19) is a consultant at BCG and the Director & Founder of The Speakeasy Project, a literary artist organization representing interdisciplinary (queer) poets of color. While at Williams, he served in various leadership roles including Co-Chair of MinCo, Chair of AASiA and Chair of Speakfree. He was part of a core group of organizers pushing for Asian American Studies and served on the CPC Asian American Studies Working Group. He is also a published poet and was the recipient of the Bullock Poetry Prize from the English Department in his freshman year. He lives in D.C.

You are invited to this Zoom event:

Williams American Studies alumni event

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