|
.png)
.png)
|
|
.png)
| Candidate #2 Akane Takahashi is a PhD student in History at the University of Southern California. Her principal research interests are agricultural and food-related labor and labor unionism, with a strong focus on race, ethnicity and migration in the modern U.S. Her dissertation project aims to incorporate labor histories of people of color into American labor history, and examine their roles in upholding and undergirding U.S. labor unionism. Her work has been supported by various awards and scholarships, including Fulbright Scholarship. She received her BA from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Spanish and Latin American Studies, and her MA from the University of Tokyo in North American Studies. Prior to coming to USC, she was also a Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellow. She was involved in multiple organizations that engage in humanitarian assistance and social work, in which she has years of professional training and experience in supporting unhoused individuals and migrant communities in Mexico City and Tokyo. At USC, she serves as a steward for its graduate student workers union, GSWOC-UAW 872. She is also a member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) in AFL-CIO. Through her work in labor and community organizing, she is committed to service that brings tangible changes in the workplaces in higher education and beyond, to realize a fair and just society for all. Outside of work, she is often found at local community gatherings or in pursuit of her next culinary discovery in Los Angeles. |
CANDIDATES: OUTREACH & MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
  | Candidate #1 My name is Dale Mize and I am a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My research explores the historical trajectory of obesity concerns in the United States over the course of the twentieth century and investigates the alterations that occur in human, cattle, and social bodies because of these fears. I have been a WHA member since 2022 and attended every conference since then working as a grad staff member. WHA has become my home organization, and I feel that with every year I attend the conference I come away with new ideas that continue to push my work forward. It is because of the inspiring work that WHA scholars do that I am interested in running for the position of Outreach & Membership Coordinator for the WHAGSC. For those that know me, you may have heard my advisor call me "the mayor" over the years, a nickname I picked up because of my excitement in meeting new people. This particular personality trait I think would serve me well in this role. In addition, I have experience doing similar work in multiple History Graduate Student Organizations (MA/PhD), and in a Grad Workers Union here at UIUC. I look forward to meeting many new faces, and hope that I can contribute to continue making the WHA a positive experience for graduate students. |
| Candidate #2 Brenda L. Lakhani is a PhD candidate in history, currently writing her dissertation proposal. Her research centers on Indigeneity, gender, and federal policy from the Progressive Era to the 1960s. Through her research and teaching, she hopes to shed light on the experiences of the American Indians and other underserved communities. Brenda was awarded the 2025 BASS School’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award in the PhD category. Her paper “Native American Gender, Evolution, and Resistance, 1890s-1930” has been selected for this year’s Western History Association Conference. She was honored to serve as a graduate student volunteer at last year’s conference and as a member of the Western History Association’s Graduate Student Caucus. Brenda’s paper “Native American Resistance” was accepted for the 2022 American Society for Ethnohistory Conference. During the summer of 2023, she was a Graduate Archer Fellow in Washington, D.C., during which time she interned at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. She actively supports students at the University of Texas at Dallas through her work as a BASS AHT Senator for history, an Archer Ambassador, and a Phi Alpha Theta member. |
| Candidate #3 My name is Brianna DeValk. I am a Ph.D. student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My research examines the lives of American-born women whose (birthright) citizenship was taken when they married an unnaturalized immigrant during the early twentieth century. My passion and excitement for conferences began as an Undergraduate student in 2017 at the Phi Alpha Theta national conference in New Orleans. I have continued attending conferences, and since 2023, have attended the annual WHA conference. I have worked as a member of the Grad Staff in Los Angeles (2023) and Kansas City (2024). During these past years, I have also held various positions in UNL's History Graduate Students' Association, including Graduate Student Assembly Representative, Workshop Coordinator, Vice-President, and most recently, President and Social Chair. In my presidency at UNL, I have pushed a new grant initiative, raising funds for student research and other personal needs. In addition, I have worked as the Chair of HGSA's annual graduate student conference for three years. In this position, I have helped to grow the conference in size and institutional support, working hard to expand opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, voice the concerns of our students to faculty and administrators, and ensure that action is taken to make this an affordable and accessible conference for students outside the UNL community. If elected as Membership and Outreach Coordinator, I will contribute to WHAGSC’s mission to be a voice for students, ensuring that their needs are met and opportunities made available. |
CANDIDATES: DEI COORDINATOR
| Candidate #1 Karen Caverly-Molineaux is a third-year history PhD student at Liberty University. She holds a Bachelors in History, Masters in Secondary Teaching and Instructional Technology, and her dissertation studies center on women’s work in the silent film industry. She has served as a substitute teacher in the K-12 system in her two local school districts from 2014 through 2024 and has a background in education grant work that focused on creating programs for student success. Her work as an Instructional Design Technician for the University of Alaska Southeast centered on supporting rural, remote, and Alaska Native students through the Complete to Compete grant. She has volunteered at her local museum digitizing their Deed of Gift files and is a volunteer board member for the Shaw Historical Library at Oregon Tech. She has coordinated and tabled local events to promote awareness of the Shaw, as well as creating awareness of the importance of local history and the need for community and cultural celebration. Karen has also had her research of the hidden history of the Chinese community in early Klamath Falls published in the Spring 2023 edition of Oregon Historical Quarterly. She presented her research on the short-comings of the early-1900s American Social Gospel Movement in uplifting Native Americans, Black Americans, and most immigrant groups at the WAWH conference in 2024. Her works have always reflected deliberate search for the muffled voices of women, immigrants, and marginalized groups in the Progressive Era with a goal of bringing untold histories to mainstream America. |
.png) | Candidate #2 Cassie Tanks is an archivist, digital humanist, public historian, and first-generation student originally from San Diego, California. She is pursuing a PhD in World History at Northeastern University, has an MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and earned a bachelor’s in history from San Diego State University after achieving an AA at San Diego Mesa Community College. Tanks served as Dean’s Appointed Community Archiving and Oral History Liaison for the Reckonings Project and collaborated closely with the late Angel David Nieves, the Director of the Northeastern Humanities Center and Director of Public History to lead critical archiving projects, who was also her mentor, doctoral studies chair, and advisor. She is experienced in connecting students, community, and faculty with digital humanities skills. Tanks’ scholarship explores liberation and civil rights during the Depression era inter-war North American west from the micro-historical perspective using counter-geographies, material culture, and community archives. By focusing on the grassroots, her work illuminates the importance of everyday actors to macro-historical narratives. Cassie is a proud community college alum and fronteriza San Diegan. She currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts with her husband Wendell and their dog Olive. |
| Candidate #3 Matthew C. Beil is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation from the Clardy and Bertrand Families. He is a third year PhD student in History at the University of Kansas where he studies Nishnabé, Environmental, and American West history. His dissertation looks at the Great Lakes environmental history via Mkok (Black Bear) populations changes by examining the difference between Nishnabé and Setters’ relationship to land. Matthew holds a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Studies from the University of Kansas, a Masters in Ancient History with Language Acquisition from Indiana University, and a Bachelor’s in History from Saint Leo University. |
.png)
CANDIDATES: SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIR
| Candidate #1 Hi! My name is Analiesa “Annie” Delgado, and I’m a PhD candidate in History at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. My research centers Indigenous history, kinship, and resistance, with a particular focus on the experiences of California Indian children in federal Indian boarding schools. I’m deeply committed to making historical work accessible, engaging, and community-centered—and I believe social media plays a powerful role in that mission. I’m excited to run for Social Media Chair because I bring both a creative vision and hands-on experience managing digital outreach for public-facing academic and Indigenous-centered initiatives. I recently served as the Head of Media and Social Media for Powwow for the Planet 2025, a large-scale, student-led cultural event at UNLV that combined Indigenous activism, education, and celebration. In this role, I designed and scheduled content, coordinated with partners, and helped grow our reach and engagement across platforms. I also currently co-manage the social media presence for IndigenousAF, a Native-led arts and empowerment nonprofit that uplifts Indigenous artists and communities through storytelling, events, and advocacy. My goal as Social Media Chair is to spotlight the work of graduate students, boost participation in caucus events, and foster a sense of connection among WHA members year-round. I’d love to bring dynamic visuals, consistent updates, and an inclusive, vibrant voice to our platforms. Thank you for considering me! |
|