People

Leadership

Jonathan Metzl

Jonathan Metzl

Director

Frederick B. Rentschler II Chair
Professor of Medicine, Health & Society and Sociology
Professor of Sociology

Dr. Metzl is a professor, psychiatrist, and leading scholar on mental illness and gun violence, with a particular focus on gender and race. He appears widely in mainstream media as an expert and is the author of several books, including the award-winning Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland.

Full bio

John Geer

John Geer

Senior Advisor to the Chancellor

A professor of political science, John Geer is a nationally renowned expert on presidential politics and elections. In January 2021 he helped launch and currently oversees the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, a trans-institutional initiative that aims to overcome political polarization through research and evidence-based discourse. Geer is a founder of both the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions and the influential Vanderbilt Poll, which conducts surveys in Tennessee and Nashville to assess the public’s thinking on topics of interest to citizens, policymakers and elected officials. In his new role, Geer will continue to co-direct the Vanderbilt Poll with Joshua Clinton, the Abby and Jon Winkelried Professor and professor of political science.

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Sarah Igo

Sarah Igo

Dean of Strategic Initiatives, College of Arts and Science

Sarah E. Igo is the Andrew Jackson Professor of History and the Dean of Strategic Initiatives for the College of Arts and Science. She received her A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in History from Princeton University. Professor Igo’s primary research interests are in modern American cultural, intellectual, legal and political history, the history of the human sciences, the sociology of knowledge, and the history of the public sphere.

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Visiting Fellows

Sigal Ben-Porath

Sigal Ben-Porath

Professor of Literacy, Culture, and International Education Division, University of Pennsylvania

Ben-Porath is an expert in democratic theory and practice and how institutions like schools and universities can sustain and advance democracy. Her areas of expertise include the philosophy of education and political philosophy. She has written and published six books, including her most recent Cancel Wars: How Universities can Foster Free Speech, Promote Inclusion, and Renew Democracy.

Jenn Carlson

Jenn Carlson

Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Arizona

Carlson is a MacArthur Fellow and an expert on the politics of guns. She is the author of three books; has been published in The New York Times, Detroit News, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; and has appeared on NPR and PBS as an expert on guns in America.

Maria Hinjosa

Maria Hinojosa

Journalist and Producer, Latino USA/Futuro Media, The Texas Tribune, PBS’s Frontline

Ms. Hinojosa is the anchor and executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning show, Latino USA, distributed by PRX, and the co-host of In The Thick, Futuro Media’s award-winning political podcast. As a journalist and filmmaker, she has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape of the contemporary U.S. Hinojosa the director of a new film on Mexican-Americans, guns, and Uvalde, entitled “After Uvalde: Guns, Grief, & Texas Politics.”

Jonathan Rauch

Jonathan Rauch

Senior Fellow – Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer of The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His many Brookings publications include the 2021 book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, as well as the 2015 ebook Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy. Other books include The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50 (2018) and Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America (2004). He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more.

Student Ambassadors

Group Photo
Jonathan Rauch

Keyonte’ Doughty

Keyonte’ Doughty is a junior double majoring in human and organizational development and political science. He is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. On campus, he is involved with the National Black Law Students Association, Tour Guides, VUcept and ’Dore for a Day. He joined the Open Dialogue Visiting Fellows program because he believes in its mission. More specifically, he believes there is a stronger need for environments that prize diverse perspectives and nurture respectful discourse—especially on college campuses.

Jonathan Rauch

Claire Downing

Claire Downing is a junior studying ecology, evolution and organismal biology as well as cognitive studies. On campus, she enjoys participating in Navy ROTC and is a resident adviser in Hank Ingram House. Outside of school, she enjoys the outdoors, including skiing, hiking and running. Growing up in a rural and relatively homogenous community, she initially had trouble finding her voice at Vanderbilt. As part of the Open Dialogue initiative, she hopes to empower and learn alongside fellow students to engage in meaningful discussion and exercise free speech to build an inclusive community.

Jonathan Rauch

Gerard Monteiro

Gerard Monteiro is a first-year student in the College of Arts and Science; he is planning to major in economics and political science with a minor in business. He is from North Brunswick, New Jersey. After experiences with free speech initiatives in high school, he wanted to be part of Dialogue Vanderbilt to help foster a culture of open expression and free speech on campus.

Jonathan Rauch

Max Perry

Max Perry is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science majoring political science and law, history and society, with a minor in business. He is originally from Union, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati. He is excited to be supporting free speech and open discourse as a student ambassador.

Jonathan Rauch

Brina Ratangee

Brina Ratangee is a junior from Orlando, majoring in medicine, health and society and neuroscience. During spring 2023, she was a Lefkowitz Fellow on the Tennessee Justice Center’s health policy/advocacy team, and she is news editor for The Vanderbilt Hustler. Brina was drawn to the Open Dialogue Visiting Fellows program because of her roles in journalism and public health advocacy, and she hopes to contribute insight from her own experiences and learn from her peers about open dialogue and free speech on college campuses.

Jonathan Rauch

Vittoria Riedling

Vittoria Riedling is a first-year student at Vanderbilt University studying electrical and computer engineering. In high school, she facilitated a school-wide discussion upon the firing of a teacher, helping establish a forum where students could voice their concerns to administrators without the fear of repercussion. Vittoria is excited to participate in the Open Dialogue program to continue participating in respectful conversations about challenging topics with people from different backgrounds.

Outside of this program, Vittoria is an advocate for youth and women in technology. She is the co-founder of 502 Hacks, a social coding event for middle and high school students in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. As an intern at RockIt Women, she created the virtual streaming platform for Louisville’s Women in Technology conference. Through 502 Hacks and RockIt Women, Vittoria encourages youth and women to explore their interest in technology.

Ryan Rose

Ryan Rose

Ryan Rose is a first-year student at Vanderbilt majoring in human and organizational development with a minor in business. Hailing from Chicago, he is passionate about the intersectionality of dialogue, identity and inclusion. Dedicated to investigating project management and service learning, and he is excited to engage with visiting fellows to advance open dialogue at Vanderbilt.

Ari Sasson

Ari Sasson

A senior at Vanderbilt, Sasson was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia; he is pursuing a double major in law, history and society and economics. He enjoys playing squash, taking walks in Centennial Park and watching baseball (Vandy and the MLB) in his free time. Much of his Vanderbilt experience has been spent in student government, where he worked with countless students, faculty and staff to advocate for and develop initiatives for the betterment of the student body. He came to love the process of working toward compromises, which sometimes took intense discussions in public and private settings.

Additionally, he’s made some of his best friends at Vanderbilt over compelling discussions about political and economic affairs. This strengthened his appreciation for the bridges that can be made through dialogue. He hopes to facilitate conversations across the Vanderbilt community and help spread a love for dialogue.

Katie Tully

Katie Tully

Katie Tully is a first-year student from Huntington Beach, California, majoring in political science with a minor in business. She is a member of the Vanderbilt debate team, serves as the social media coordinator for Vanderbilt’s chapter of Young America’s Foundation, and is a member of Sigma Phi Lambda. Recently, she has interned on a congressional campaign and has conducted research on the impacts of political self-censorship on individuals and, more broadly, the conditions necessary for productive discussion. Her interest in open dialogue started in high school, when she noticed that her classes struggled to hold respectful discussions that acknowledged more than one viewpoint. When choosing Vanderbilt, the university’s emphasis on discussion played a large role in her decision to attend, and she knew that she would want to be actively involved in this mission. Katie is excited to be an Open Dialogue student ambassador, and she hopes that she will be able to help make campus a place where disagreement is seen as a means of growth and understanding, allowing for diversity of thought and meaningful discussions.

Jason Vadnos

Jason Vadnos

Jason Vadnos is a freshman in the College of Arts and Science interested in political science, human and organizational development, and business. Originally from South Florida, he grew up in a highly diverse social and political community, which struggled with institutional and self-censorship. Witnessing the effects of these structural and cultural constraints on individual expression and the dissemination of evidence-based ideas and knowledge, especially in the educational system, he became passionate about promoting diverse yet respectful discourse in schools. Through his involvement in the Dialogue Vanderbilt initiative, he hopes to encourage undergraduate students to recognize the importance of free speech and consider global issues from a variety of perspectives that challenge their preconceived notions.

Faculty Advisory Board, Project on Open Dialogue

Larry Bartels, A&S — Political Science, Public Policy
Democracy Erodes from the Top, 2023; Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age, 2nd ed., 2018; Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government, 2017

Nicole Hemmer, A&S — History; Director, Rogers Center for Presidential Studies
Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s, 2022; Messengers of the Right: A History of Conservative Media, 2016

Christopher Loss, Peabody College — History, Public Policy, Higher Education
Robert’s Rules of Order and Why It Matters for Colleges and Universities Today, 2021; The Convergence of K-12 and Higher Education, 2016; Between Citizens and the State: The Politics of American Higher Education in the Twentieth Century, 2012

Jonathan Metzl, A&S — Sociology; Psychiatry; Director, Medicine, Health and Society
Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America’s Heartland, 2020; The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease, 2011; Prozac on the Couch, 2005

Dana Nelson, A&S — English
Commons Democracy: Reading the Politics of Participation in the Early United States, 2020; Bad for Democracy: How the Presidency Undermines the Power of the People, 2008; National Manhood: Capitalist Citizenship and the Fraternity of White Men, 1998

David Owens, Owen School — Management and Innovation; Director of the Wond’ry
Creative People Must Be Stopped! Six Ways We Stop Innovation Without Even Trying, 2011

Ganesh Sitamarin, Law School — Economic Policy, Constitutional Law
The Great Democracy: How to Fix Our Politics, Unrig the Economy, and Unite America, 2019; The Public Option, 2019; The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution, 2017

Paul Stob, A&S — Communication Studies; Director, Program in American Studies
Intellectual Populism: Democracy, Inquiry, and the People, 2020; William James and the Art of Popular Statement, 2013; The Art of Public Speaking, 2012

Lisa Thompson, Divinity School — Black Homiletics and Liturgics
Preaching the Headlines, 2022; Ingenuity: Preaching as the Outsider, 2018

Shatema Threadcraft, A&S — Philosophy, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Intimate Justice: The Black Female Body and the Body Politic, 2016