Founding Director
Phyllis West, PhD,
Phyllis West, PhD, serves as Director of the Social Justice Initiative at GovState, bringing more than three decades of experience in advocacy, training, case management, and community organizing to her role.
West is a social work educator with expertise in community public health, international service learning, criminal justice, and organizational wellness. Her work is rooted in a deep commitment to communities that have historically had limited access to legal and social services.
For the past 14 years, West has focused on training the next generation of social workers and global citizens, equipping students with the skills, knowledge, and values they need to create meaningful change in the world.
Advisory Council Members
Rashidah Muhammad, PhD
Dora Muhammad, PhD, Coordinator, BA and MA in English Programs
Dora Muhammad, PhD, serves as Coordinator of the GovState BA and MA in English programs and is a former President of the GovState Faculty Senate, where she served as the 15th person to hold that office.
Muhammad earned her BA in English Education with a minor in history, her MA in English, and her PhD in English, all from Michigan State University.
Teaching
Muhammad teaches graduate and undergraduate courses across a broad range of disciplines, including:
- English Education
- American, African American, Black, Native American, Women's, World, and Young Adult Literatures
- African American Language
- Black Studies
- First-Year Writing Studies
- Literary Criticism
- Studies in Race, Class, and Gender
Scholarship and Publications
Muhammad co-edited the State University of New York Press series Urban Voices, Urban Visions, which includes the following titles:
- Lives in the Balance: Youth, Poverty, and Education in Watts, by Ann C. Diver-Stammns
- Educating Black Males: Critical Lessons in Schooling, Community and Power, by Ronnie Hopkins
- Teachers' Reading / Teachers' Lives, by Mary Kay Rummel and Elizabeth P. Quintero (Muhammad also contributed the foreword to this volume)
Muhammad co-authored the chapter "Language Diversity in Teacher Education and in the Classroom" with Arentha F. Ball, PhD, Professor of Education at Stanford University. The chapter appears in Language Diversity in the Classroom: From Intention to Practice, edited by G. Smitherman and V. Villanueva.
Conference Presentations
Muhammad has presented papers and workshops at numerous national and international conferences, including:
- American Educational Research Association
- National Council of Teachers of English
- Conference on College Composition and Communication
- The Third World Conference
- Biennial Conferences of the Toni Morrison Society, Charleston, South Carolina, and Paris, France
Service and Leadership
Muhammad has served as a poetry judge for the Illinois Emerging Writers Competition, sponsored by the Illinois Center for the Book, the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, and the Illinois State Library. She has held this role since 2006.
She served on the editorial board of the journal Language Arts, published by The Ohio State University, and hosted and wrote the study guide for the television course Read and Rap: Literature for Young Adult Readers, which featured interviews with authors Judy Blume, Lois Lowry, and Walter Dean Myers.
Muhammad has served as host, moderator, and panel discussant for several notable GovState events, including Flow, The Color Purple, Braid Tales, Red Tails, Nikki Giovanni at GovState, and Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till. For 27 consecutive years, she has hosted the National African American Read-In at GovState during Black History Month.
Awards and Recognition
- Faculty Excellence Award (three-time recipient), GovState
- Student Appreciation Award (two-time recipient), GovState
- Black Women Rock Scholar Award, GovState
- Black Women Rock Coretta Scott King Award, GovState
- Unsung Hero Award, Jihad Bashir Support Scholarship Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
Larry A. McClellan
Larry McClellan, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Community Studies
Larry McClellan is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Community Studies at GovState. Following graduate work at the University of Chicago, McClellan helped found GovState in 1970 and served the university for 30 years. During that time, he also served as mayor of University Park, then known as Park Forest South, in the mid-1970s, spent four years as a senior consultant with the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, and served as pastor with diverse congregations throughout his career.
Research and Publications
McClellan's consulting, research, and writing focus on historic highways, the Underground Railroad in Illinois, and African American and regional history south of Chicago. His major publications include:
- 25 articles in the Encyclopedia of Chicago, 2005
- The Pontiac Trail, Route 66 and the Early Chicago to St. Louis Roads, 2013
- The Underground Railroad South of Chicago, 2019
- To the River: The Remarkable Journey of Caroline Quarlls, a Freedom Seeker on the Underground Railroad, co-authored, 2019
- Onward to Chicago: Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Illinois, Southern Illinois University Press, 2023
In 2022, McClellan received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society for his contributions to the history of Illinois.
Underground Railroad Research
Since 2006, McClellan has presented research papers on the Underground Railroad at three annual meetings of the Illinois State Historical Society and at three national conferences of the National Park Service Network to Freedom program. He served as principal researcher for successful applications to list Underground Railroad sites in Crete, Lockport, and Chicago on the National Park Service Network to Freedom national register. Additional research and resources are available at illinoisundergroundrailroad.info.
Community and Public Engagement
For 10 years, McClellan wrote a monthly regional history column for The Southtown Star newspaper. He has served on the boards of the Illinois State Historical Society and the Will County Historical Society, and has delivered lectures and programs across Illinois. He currently serves as President of the South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society.
McClellan graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles, with a year of study at the University of Ghana in West Africa and additional studies in Great Britain and Jerusalem.
Novia Pagone, PhD
Novia Pagone, PhD, Professor of Spanish Language and Literatures and Global Studies, Director, Center for Community Media
Novia Pagone, PhD, teaches Spanish Language and Literatures and Global Studies at GovState and serves as Director of the Center for Community Media.
Pagone holds a PhD in Hispanic Studies from the University of Chicago, with a focus on cultural studies, feminist media theories and practices, and democracy in the Spanish-speaking world.
Prior to joining GovState, Pagone served as an Associate Dean of Students and academic and career advisor, and worked in Illinois government and politics.
Latesha Newson, MSW
Latesha Newson, MSW, University Lecturer and BSW Field Program Coordinator, Department of Social Work
Latesha Newson, MSW, is a University Lecturer and Bachelor of Social Work Field Program Coordinator in the Department of Social Work at GovState. A proud GovState alumna, Newson earned both her Bachelor of Psychology, with a concentration in mental health, and her Master of Social Work, with a focus on children and families, from GovState.
A strong advocate for social justice, Newson works to influence policies that create equitable and transformative change in communities across Illinois and beyond.
Newson has been an active member of the National Association of Social Workers Illinois Chapter since 2019, serving in a number of leadership roles. She served as chair of the NASW Illinois Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee from 2021 to 2023, and currently serves as President of the Illinois Chapter, having transitioned into the role on July 1, 2023. She also serves as an NASW Illinois Delegate Assembly member.
In 2020, Newson co-chaired the NASW Illinois Task Force on Racial Justice. The task force's recommendations on police reform were reflected in the Criminal Justice Omnibus Bill, which was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Feb. 22, 2021.
Jelena Radovic-Fanta, PhD
Jelena Radovic-Fanta, PhD, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology
Jelena Radovic-Fanta, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at GovState, with affiliate faculty appointments in Global Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies. A cultural anthropologist, educator, and ethnographic researcher, Radovic-Fanta brings a global perspective to her teaching and scholarship.
Radovic-Fanta earned her PhD in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside. Her research focuses on labor, gender, globalization, higher education, and Latin America.
Her current research projects examine the college experiences of first-generation students in the Chicago Southland and the shifting racial politics of Chile. Her work has been published in leading journals of anthropology, labor, and higher education, and has been supported by grants including the American Association of University Women Research Publication Grant and the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
In addition to her role at GovState, Radovic-Fanta serves as a visiting professor in the Public Policy master's program at the University of Santiago de Chile.
Jerry Davis-EL, MSW
Jerry Davis-El, MSW, Executive Director, GRO Community
Jerry Davis-El serves as Executive Director of GRO Community and has been a champion for social justice for more than 13 years. His work is driven by a commitment to illuminating and addressing the needs of historically marginalized communities throughout the Chicagoland area through a holistic, whole-person approach.
Davis-El earned his Master of Social Work, with a concentration in Families and Children, from GovState. He is also a Qualified Mental Health Professional and a Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselor.
Davis-El has presented at forums across the country on topics including social justice, mass incarceration, reentry, restorative justice, and trauma. His community contributions have been recognized with multiple awards, including the Illinois Lincoln Laureate Award for Civic Engagement and Excellence.
Robert Garcia, PhD
Robert Garcia, PhD, Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems, College of Business
Robert Garcia, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems in the College of Business at GovState.
Garcia earned his MS in Computer Science and his PhD in Computer Science from DePaul University in 2021.
Born and raised on Chicago's Southeast Side, Garcia has spent years working alongside area nonprofit organizations and community activists on a wide range of social justice issues, including violence prevention, anti-gentrification, community development, immigration, and environmental justice.
Garcia brings his technical and data analytics expertise, combined with extensive community organizing experience, to his work with the Social Justice Initiative at GovState.
Taylor Rodgers, PhD
Taylor Rogers, PhD, Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Philosophy
Taylor Rogers, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Philosophy at GovState. A decolonial feminist scholar and artist based in Chicago, Rogers brings a unique blend of academic scholarship and creative practice to their teaching and research.
Rogers earned their PhD in Philosophy, with a certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies, from Northwestern University in August 2021. Their doctoral research examined the role of emotional numbness in perpetuating oppression.
Scholarship and Presentations
Rogers has presented scholarly work at universities across the country and has published in leading feminist philosophy journals. Their latest multimedia research project, NOA: A Music Film, created in collaboration with Indiana-based cinematographer Lillian Walker, explores the liberatory role of grief through philosophy, music, dance, poetry, and cinematography. The film recently received the Best Film award at the Bloomington Indiana Film Festival.
Rogers is also currently developing a book project that serves as the literary counterpart to the music film.
Artistic Work
Rogers has released three full-length albums and has toured nationally, performing at festivals across the Midwest, including Oberlin FolkFest and BAMfest, and on NPR's Sessions at Studio A. Their work has been featured by Folk Radio UK, Chicago's Broadway World, Substream, and other notable publications.
All of Rogers' work, whether scholarly or artistic, is inspired by themes of connection, presence, and the depth of emotional life as a foundation for collective healing.
Jarrod Shanahan, PhD
Jarrod Shanahan, PhD, studies the social history of punishment and control in the United States, as well as the collective struggles of communities working to build a more just world. His scholarship sits at the intersection of criminology, history, and political theory, bringing both rigorous academic analysis and a commitment to social change to his teaching and research at GovState.
Shanahan is the author of Captives: How Rikers Island Took New York City Hostage, published by Verso in 2022 and winner of the 2023 New York City Book Award, and Every Fire Needs a Little Bit of Help: A Decade of Rebellion, Reform, and Morbid Symptoms, published by PM Press in 2025. He is co-author of three additional books, States of Incarceration: Rebellion, Reform, and America's Punishment System, published by Reaktion/Field Notes in 2022, City Time: On Being Sentenced to Rikers Island, published by NYU Press in 2025, and Skyscraper Jails: The Abolitionist Fight Against Jail Expansion in New York City, published by Haymarket in 2025. Shanahan also edited Treason to Whiteness is Loyalty to Humanity: A Noel Ignatiev Reader, published by Verso in 2022, and was a founding editor of the journal Hard Crackers: Chronicles of Everyday Life.
Shanahan's writing has appeared in a wide range of publications, including The Nation, Social Justice, Race and Class, Prison Journal, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Brooklyn Rail, Jacobin, Vice, Urban Omnibus, New Inquiry, Truthout, Ill Will, End Notes, Inquest, Insurgent Notes, Three-Way Fight, Hellgate, and Gothamist. He also co-authored chapters in the anthologies The George Floyd Uprising, published by PM Press in 2023, and Three-Way Fight: Revolutionary Politics and Anti-Fascism, published by PM Press in 2024.
Shanahan's research has been featured and reviewed by some of the most widely read publications in the country, including the New York Times, Washington Post, New York Review of Books, London Review of Books, Times of London, The Nation, New York Daily News, New York Post, Publisher's Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews, as well as leading academic journals such as the Journal of Urban Affairs, Social Justice, Crime Media Culture, Labor, Theoretical Criminology, and The Journal of Urban History.
Lorri Glass, DSW
Lorri Glass, DSW, Associate Professor of Social Work, Coordinator, Undergraduate Social Work Program
Lorri Glass, DSW, is an Associate Professor in the GovState Department of Social Work, where she serves as Coordinator of the Undergraduate Social Work Program and teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses.
Glass earned her bachelor's degree in political science, with a minor in social work, from Valparaiso University. She went on to earn her master's degree and Doctorate in Social Work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Before joining GovState, Glass served as Clinical Manager at Gary Community Mental Health, Department Chair of Social Work at Valparaiso University, and Clinical Consultant with the Veterans Administration. She brings more than 40 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker and is a certified trauma practitioner. In her private practice, Glass provides behavioral health care services, clinical supervision, and professional training.
Glass serves on the Advisory Board of the Minority Fellowship Program, supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Council on Social Work Education, which provides financial support for doctoral students of color.
Glass is the founder of Generating Hope.
Judge Ieshia Gray
Judge Ieshia Gray, Presiding Judge, Restorative Justice Community Court
Judge Ieshia Gray is a judicial leader dedicated to reshaping the justice system through restorative justice, trauma-informed practice, and community-driven innovation for young adults. As Presiding Judge of the first south suburban Restorative Justice Community Court, Gray leads a courtroom that serves as both a legal forum and a community hub for accountability, healing, and hope.
Under her leadership, the court graduated its inaugural class and established a court-community model that unites colleges, service providers, and local governments to reduce recidivism and expand opportunity for young adults in the region. Gray created and teaches a gun violence prevention curriculum now used in classrooms across Cook County. She was also selected for the Erikson Institute's 2025 Executive Fellows Cohort, a recognition of her commitment to evidence-based leadership in the justice system.
Gray speaks and writes on restorative justice courts, gun violence prevention, youth empowerment, and community safety. Her leadership has been recognized with multiple outstanding service awards across the Chicago region.
A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Jack and Jill of America, and the Illinois Judicial Council, Gray is a devoted wife and mother. She is guided by the prayer, "In this life, let me be a conduit of justice so that it flows like a mighty stream."