Directors & Staff

Sonia Lee

Director

Email:

soslee@iu.edu

Sonia Lee is an Associate Professor of American Studies and Latinx Studies at Indiana University. Her research interests include the civil rights and Black Power movements, Black-Brown solidarities, constructions of race and ethnicity, mental health, substance abuse, trauma and practices of healing within freedom movements.

Koji Chavez

Assistant Director, CRRES and Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology

Email:

kochavez@iu.edu

Koji Chavez’s research is broadly focused on gender and racial inequalities in the labor market and in the workplace. Much of his research centers specifically on discrimination in the hiring process and relies multiple methods, both quantitative and qualitative, to understand trends in discrimination, and how and why they occur. Koji also enjoys teaching courses on the sociology of work, race and ethnicity, and research design. Koji received his BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University before becoming an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Indiana University.

Dalton Kumar

CRRES Administrative Assistant

Email:

crres@iu.edu

Dalton is the Center's Program and Financial Manager. A key part of their role in financial administration includes processing reimbursements and managing purchases. A graduate of IUB with a background in Psychology and Counseling, Dalton is the lead for coordinating the CRRES Speaker Series and other key events. They also handle all event promotions and create the Center's annual and weekly newsletters. Furthermore, they serve as the scheduling officer for the American Studies department, where they coordinate class schedules and room assignments. Dalton is responsible for maintaining the Center's website and event calendar using IU's Web Content Management System (WCMS) and is also a great resource for local restaurant recommendations.

Jeffery Giddings

CRRES Graduate Research Assistant

Email:

crresgra@indiana.edu

Jeffery Giddings is a Ph.D. Candidate in the African American and African Diaspora Studies department and project coordinator for the History of Black Writing research center at Indiana University. Their current research interests are focused on exploring the ways that Blackness is constructed and reproduced within the digital age throughout the diaspora and the use of comic books with other sequential art for sharing Black diasporic histories and knowledge. Jeffery holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Saginaw Valley State University and a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Michigan – Flint.