HISTORY
FALL 2017 THROUGH SUMMERÂ 2019
Interrogating Bias Course Development
Interrogating Bias developed out of a one-credit university course and then a three-credit university course, for which a series of podcasts were created. Those podcasts are now a free resource and linked to other resources and actions that listeners can take.
FALL 2019 THROUGH SPRINGÂ 2020
Conversations with a DEI Colleague
In fall 2019, Dr. Telenko began having regular conversations with a leader in diversity and inclusion in higher education. Dr. Telenko suggested she create a version of Interrogating Bias for staff in higher education.
SUMMER 2020 AND BEYOND
Interrogating Bias for Staff
With the urging and feedback from colleagues and the curating and facilitating powers of Dr. Telenko, Interrogating Bias for Staff was offered to a cohort of higher education staff for the first time in summer 2020. This was a season in which more people were awakening to the realities of racial injustices, and due to a second pandemic, COVID-19, were searching for ways to connect remotely. Cohorts continued to form in the winter and spring of 2021. Dr. Telenko has helped to prepare and train additional co-facilitators who can help to carry this work forward.
WINTER 2021Â AND BEYOND
Interrogating Bias, LLC
While still in the midst of a postdoc in a pandemic, sweet, trusted friends and neighbors urged Dr. Telenko to find ways to get her work out into the world. They suggested she offer workshops at other institutions and to communities outside of higher education, and they encouraged her to find other ways to get her stories and messages out to the world. This led to a creation of a website and the formation of an LLC.
THE FUTURE OF INTERROGATING BIAS
The future work of Interrogating Bias, LLC could involve YOU. Are you interested in participating in a workshop? Do you have ideas for future iterations of Interrogating Bias for your own profession or community group? Please use the contact form on the home page to start a conversation or collaboration with Dr. Telenko, whose bio can be found as you continue reading.
BIO
Dr. Shannon Telenko is a mother, higher education leader, cultural anthropologist, facilitator, and social justice advocate who started working in higher education after graduating from Robert Morris University in 1998. As a first-generation college student, she found the experience of college itself incredibly valuable and went on to earn her Master of Education in Higher Education Administration at Peabody College at Vanderbilt in 2000. While working in higher education, Dr. Telenko began thinking more deeply about the intersections of education, her own cultural roots, and inequality in society. This led her to study cultural anthropology with a concentration in race, gender, and social justice at American University, where she earned her Doctor of Philosophy in 2016. Her dissertation focused on the systemic housing displacement of African American families who had migrated into the Johnstown and Altoona regions. Her knowledge of systemic racism and Pennsylvania history and culture guides her in collaboratively developing applied, educational opportunities for students, colleagues, and community advocates.