Susanne Hackett holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University and an MA in Latin American Studies (2012) from Tulane. Prior to joining the Stone Center, she worked for National Geographic Traveler Magazine for nine years, during which she studied and performed as a singer with an Afro-Cuban folkloric ensemble in Washington, D.C. At Tulane, her research has centered on Cuba, African Diaspora religions, music and dance, and visual language. Her Ph.D. dissertation, “The Yoruba in the Construction of Cuban Revolutionary Nationalism,” examines the role played by Afro-Cuban religious myths called patakíes in the Cuban imaginary, as expressed in literature, film, and popular culture, and argues for a re-centering and privileging of African-derived intellectual and philosophical frameworks within Cuban Revolutionary thought and discourse.

During her time at Tulane, Susanne worked as an assistant to Tulane’s Summer in Cuba program and as a tour guide both in Cuba and at the Whitney Plantation Museum in Louisiana. She also taught Latin American Studies and Spanish language at the undergraduate level.

A chapter of her dissertation was selected as the winner of the inaugural graduate student essay contest of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ Latino/a Caucus, and will be published in the journal Studies in Spanish and Latin American Cinema as an article titled “A Re-Visionist Her-Story of De Cierta Manera (1974): Reading Yoruba Myth in Sara Gómez’s Revolutionary Classic.”

Samantha Greenspun completed her PhD in December 2019. Her research focused on the impacts of taxation and social spending on gender inequality across six countries in Latin America. During her time at the Stone Center, Samantha led service-learning and experiential courses including “Introduction to Latin American Studies I and II” and “Model OAS”. She received the William J. Griffith Award for Outstanding Teaching Assistant in Latin American Studies and the Tulane 34 Award. Samantha was invited to deliver a presentation for Ignite Tulane in its inaugural year to celebrate successful methods utilized to foster engaged students in the classroom. She mentored a number of Tulane students including supporting student athletes and serving as an advisor to an undergraduate’s Center for Public Service project. In her doctoral research, she supported the launch and development of Tulane’s Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Institute, where she served as the Institute’s Associate Director. After completing field research on social programs in Mexico, Samantha received her MA from the Stone Center in 2011, while also earning a Certificate in Global Health from the School of Public Health. She also holds a BA from Gettysburg College.

Jessica Glass earned her PhD in Latin American Studies. Her dissertation is titled, Where the Asfalto Ends: Commodification, Social Exclusion, and Covid-10 in Rio de Janerio's Favelas.