The Team

This digital archive owes its greatest debt to the refugee artisans themselves, who spend many hours with us explaining their crafts, how they make them and what their crafts mean to them and their wider communities. Our immediate research team for this archive consisted of Susan Rodgers, Ellen Ferrante, Joan Kariko.  Five Holy Cross undergraduates also aided Rodgers in doing long informal interviews with artisans in their homes (Jennifer Feraud, Madeleine Fontenay, Tildah Fredua, Gabriella Trznadel and Martina Umunna). Gabriella will graduate this May, 2024 and all the others have now graduated from college and are pursuing exciting careers in teaching, research, healthcare, and educational technology.

  • Susan Rodgers, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Anthropology and Distinguished Professor Emerita, Ethics and Society, Holy Cross, studies print literatures and minority society arts from Sumatra. She also curates museum exhibitions on Indonesian and Malaysia village arts.
  • Ellen Ferrante is a financial consultant and former CEO of Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital in the city. She has been active in humanitarian and social justice causes in Worcester for decades.
  • Joan Kariko is a weaver, arts and refugees advocate, and the former director of Career Planning and Placement at the former Becker College.
  • Troy B. Thompson is a photographer, web designer, and creative and social entrepreneur at his company, Daedal Creations.

Five Holy Cross students closely collaborated with Rodgers in interviewing refugee artisans in their homes. These current or former undergraduates are: 

Author
Susan Rodgers