People: People

Anneka Knoll

Anneka Knoll is a junior majoring in Film and Television with a minor in Advertising at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She is the summer 2020 video ninja who edits video content for
Sanctuary TV. At the Sanctuary, she has learned about indigenous communities, the issues surrounding the Cohoes Norlite plant which produces toxic waste, and how COVID-19 disproportionately affects minority communities. Anneka also works for the Siena College Research Institute where she makes telephone calls and interviews people about political, social, and environmental issues. In her free time, she likes to go hiking and swimming.

Katie Gallagher

Katherine (Katie) Gallagher is an intern at the Sanctuary for the Summer 2020 session. She is a sophomore at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. majoring in International Affairs and minoring in Arabic and Journalism & Mass Communication. At the Sanctuary she produces, scriptwrites, and works in the Collard City Growers garden. 
 
While she grew up in the Capital District, she’s spent much of her time abroad traveling and learning new languages and cultures. She hopes to bring this spirit into her work at the Sanctuary this summer, exploring the different cultures that exist within the Troy area. Giving a voice to those with important stories to tell who are heard the least is what drives her the most.

You can find Katie’s work here:

Thearse McCalmon on Primary Issues
Jeanne Finley om the Aref – Hossain Case
Kathy Manley on Coronavirus In The Prison System
Bending the Arc

Erin Blanding

Erin Blanding is a sophomore Benjamin N. Duke scholar at Duke University from Indian Trail, North Carolina. She loves social media and journalism, and is also interested in a broad range of STEM fields.

As a summer 2020 intern for The Sanctuary, Erin produces a podcast series called “People’s Science” with Kathy High, Professor of Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, project coordinator of NATURE Lab, and member of The Sanctuary’s Board of Directors. The goal of Erin’s bucket is to interview a wide variety of scientists and researchers of color, ranging from experts in education to architectural scientists about the importance of their work. Another important goal of People’s Science is to examine how systems of inequity have impacted their fields through a lens of social and environmental justice, especially considering the racial justice movement happening today. Erin also helps with the Hudson Mohawk magazine by script writing and hosting the radio show, and is a graphic designer for The Sanctuary’s social media accounts.

This summer is certainly one of a kind, and Erin is happy to contribute by being a part of the team!

You can find Erin’s work here:
People’s Science Interview With Mae – Ling Lokko
People’s Science With Dr. Sarah Gaither
People’s Science with Dr. Anne – Maria Makhulu
People’s Science with Dr. Christine Folch
People’s Science with Dr. Jennifer Rico-Varela
People’s Science with Dr. Raquel Velho

Peter Sergay

Peter Sergay is a student at Middlebury College (’22) and a Summer 2020 intern at the Sanctuary. He is producing a radio series, “Capital Region Icons,” featuring a wide array of performing artists, queer people, and activists discussing how they’re persevering through the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. He also is working as a mentor for the Uptown Summer youth radio producers. As a Computer Science major, he is helping archive the content of WOOC, and he works at the Collard City Growers community garden.

Interviews by Peter:

 

Celebrating Claudia Israel

Claudia shared peace, joy and music with our community — we are inspired by her loving being.

Claudia’s shadow was strong at Freedom Square — see her shadow in 2015 revealed with this photo published by the Albany Times Union, in the article Faces of Faith: Festival celebrates peace of mind!
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Faces-of-Faith-Festival-celebrates-peace-of-mind-6404241.ph

 

Consider the Source, PeaceStock 2015, Produced by Claudia Israel

We share memories, stories, music, healing energies in celebration of the life of Claudia Israel on Sunday March 31, 3-6pm, at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Ave., Troy, NY 12181.

To donate, https://archive.mediasanctuary.org/news/join-the-sanctuary-sustainer-movement/.
*In public comments box, please note: Celebrating Claudia

Cassidy McCabe

My name is Cassidy McCabe (pronouns: she/her and they/them), and I was a Spring Intern at the Sanctuary of Independent Media from the University at Albany. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies. Now that I’m no longer in college, I’ve decided to continue at the Sanctuary as a volunteer for WOOC and the Spirit of the Suffragettes summer festival.

 

For the Sanctuary I am running a radio segment on WOOC in correspondence with Hudson Mohawk Magazine discussing our summer event the Spirit of the Suffragettes with fellow activists and local organizations, and learning about the local social justice efforts that they advocate for.

 

During my free time I love listening to music, playing video games, and caring for houseplants. I’m a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and justice, and am always looking for a way to give an intersectional perspective to issues that are seen in the mainstream.

Branda Miller

Branda Miller is the Arts & Education Coordinator at the Sanctuary.

She is dedicated to using art for achieving a more just and sustainable world.

Natalie Dubois-Calero

Natalie (right) and Maya (left)
11/9/18

Nature Lab 11/6

“Wearing Bacteria,” Natalie Dubois-Calelo, Nature Lab 11/6/18
Nature Lab 11/6

 

 

Nature Lab 11/6

Nature Lab 11/6

Maya Sanders

Maya is an undergraduate student at RPI, in the Sustainability Studies program with a focus on Ecology. During the Summer of 2018, Maya volunteered with the Uptown Summer program, where she gave workshops about Grassroots Science, and helped the youth develop radio stories on Social Justice. This Fall (2018), Maya is an intern with the Sanctuary’s NATURE Lab, where she continues to give workshops in addition to developing curriculum and a community science network in preparation for the upcoming community science center. Maya also works with the WOOC 105.3 Hudson Mohawk Magazine  developing radio pieces. 

Maya and Natalie
11/9