Executive Director
James Wilson is Professor of English and Theatre at LaGuardia Community College and
the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Areas of research include queer theatre and performance, African American theatre, and pedagogy. His articles have
appeared in Urban Education, Teaching English in the Two-Year College, and Theatre History Studies. His essay, "'Ladies and Gentlemen, People Die': The Uncomfortable Performances of Kiki and Herb," appeared in an anthology of lesbian and gay theatre and performances in Fall 2008. He is co-editor of The Journal of American Drama and Theatre, which is published by the Martin E. Theatre Segal Center (CUNY Graduate Center). His book, Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies: Race, Performance, and Sexuality in the Harlem Renaissance, was published by University of Michigan Press in 2010, and a paperback version was made available in 2011.
Jasmin Blessing is the Global Coordinator of the International Resource Network.
Benjamin Gillespie is the Events and Outreach Coordinator at CLAGS. He is a PhD. student in Theatre at the CUNY Graduate Center. Benjamin holds a Masters degree in Theatre Studies from York University in Toronto, where he also received his Bachelors Degree with Honours. His research currently focuses around related interests in queer theatre/theory, aesthetic philosophy, North American (US/Canada/Mexico) performance art and the Avant-Garde, as well as modern and contemporary drama. Benjamin has presented for multiple conferences, including the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (2011), the Canadian Association for Theatre Research (2011) and Performance Studies International (2010). Benjamin's work has been published in the Canadian Theatre Review and in the forthcoming anthology TRANS(per)FORMING Nina Arsenault: Body of Work/Body of Art from Intellect Press. Benjamin is currently working on a project surrounding the performance work of Toronto-based queer artist Jess Dobkin, among other projects.
Lauren Gutterman is the Development Director for CLAGS. She is a doctoral candidate in New York University's History Department where she concentrates on twentieth-century U.S. history with a particular focus on women, gender, and sexuality. Lauren's dissertation "'The House on the Borderland': Lesbian Desire, Marriage, and the Household, 1945-1979" examines the personal experiences and public representation of wives who desired women. When not writing her dissertation or working at CLAGS, she volunteers as a friendly visitor for Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders.
Sujay Pandit is the Memberships and Fellowships Coordinator at CLAGS. Sujay is also a PhD candidate in Performance Studies at New York University; his work focuses on the interplay between space/place, architecture, human rights and philosophy. He completed his BA in Philosophy and Politics at Sarah Lawrence College and his Master's in Performance Studies at New York University. He is also keenly interested in digital and new media. Outside of the academy, Sujay has worked as a graphic designer, digital archivist/photographer and multimedia specialist for multiple media outlets including: Scientific American Magazine, PBS' Art:21, the NYU Afghan Digital Library, and various corporations.
Jasmina Sinanovic is the Financial and Administrative Director at CLAGS. She teaches at the Communications Department at the Bronx Community College and Women Studies Department at the City College by day and is a performance/burlesque/theatre artist by night. Her research interests are in queer, performance and postcolonial theory as well as the study of the idea of Balkanism. She holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from Stony Brook University and MA in Theatre from CUNY.
