Team

Ioana Literat is Professor and Program Director of the Technology, Media & Learning program at Teachers College. Her research examines youth online participation, with a particular focus on the intersection of civic and creative practices in online contexts. Her work has been published in the Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Communication Theory, the International Journal of Communication, and Information, Communication & Society, among others. She is the co-author, with Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, of Not Your Parents' Politics: Understanding Young People's Political Expression on Social Media (Oxford University Press, 2024). She is also a frequent contributor on technology-related topics in the press, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Atlantic, CNN and Wired.

Lalitha M. Vasudevan is Professor of Technology and Education at Teachers College, where she also serves as Vice Dean for Digital Innovation and Managing Director of the TC Digital Futures Institute. Her research examines the literacies, communication, and media practices of youth across settings, with attention to the role of digital media in young people's educational trajectories and wellbeing. She conducts participatory and ethnographic research in classrooms, afterschool programs, detention facilities, and social service organizations, and has partnered with youth-serving organizations and K-12 educators throughout this work. She is the co-author of Collaborative Research in Theory and Practice: The Poetics of Letting Go (Bristol University Press, 2022) and co-editor of Arts, Media, and Justice: Multimodal Explorations with Youth (Peter Lang, 2013) and Media, Learning, and Sites of Possibility (Peter Lang, 2008).

Madeline McGee Stillman is a doctoral student in the Technology, Media, and Learning program at Teachers College, Columbia University. A former journalist, she studies how young people come to think of themselves as citizens and changemakers through their interactions with media. Her research examines how youth use media and communication technologies to make sense of power and how their media practices shape how they negotiate agency within systems that often exclude them. She is especially interested in narrative methods that ask how the stories we encounter shape the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves.

Maelin Aquino is an Ed.M. student focusing on children's rights studies, critical inquiry and engagement with media, and building an empowered and ethical digital presence. She has explored several educator roles from afterschool programming, to clinical care, and now as a political organizer! Maelin is committed to merging her interests and passion for education, children's media, digital safety, and political advocacy.

Minh Thanh "Madison" Nguyen is a graduate student in the Master of Education in Media, Culture, and Society program at Teachers College, Columbia University. With an interdisciplinary background spanning media studies, international education, and pedagogy, Madison's lived and professional experience explore the intersections of digital media, learning, culture, and inclusive educational practices, with a particular interest in how multimodal education can support meaningful and culturally responsive learning experiences. Prior to joining Teachers College, Madison worked across higher education and community-based settings, designing digital learning resources, instructional materials, and multilingual educational content for diverse learners and educators.