Our Team
The Bronx Italian American History Initiative is curated by a dedicated team of Fordham University professors and student assistants interested in the field of oral histories and digital humanities.
Kathleen LaPenta, Ph.D.
Director
Senior Lecturer in Italian at Fordham University, Kathleen LaPenta is a co-principal investigator and director of the BIAHI who focuses her research on modern Italian culture, diaspora studies, Italian American identity and representation as well as memory at the intersection of literature and cinema.
Mark Naison, Ph.D.
Director of BAAHP
Founder of the Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP), one of the largest community based oral history projects in the nation, Mark Naison has brought his research into many schools, Bronx based cultural organizations and
NGOs.
Kelsey Benoit
Graduate Assistant
Graduate student in Multi-platform Journalism at Fordham’s PMMA program, Kelsey Benoit graduated from Georgia State University in May 2023 with a degree in Political Science. Kelsey is using her journalistic skills to update the ACE website, databases, and social media content to expand BIAHI’s recognition.
Past Undergraduate Student Researchers:
Carolyn Wiedenhoft
Past Graduate Student Assistants:
Desislava Stoeva
Rachel Meyer
Esi Valbona
Gabrielle Doré
Lisa Betty (with the Bronx African American History Project)
Rafique Louison
Alexandra Ponti
Louis Santelli III
Past Undergraduate Student Assistants:
Juliana Esoldi
Kraig Puccia
Aly Rini (with the Bronx African American History Project)
Sarah Cavanagh
Gabrielle Di Meglio
Administrative Support:
Michelle O’Dwyer – Budget and Administrative Support
Consultants:
Timothy de Ganon
Katherina Fostano
Tobias Hrynick
Where to find us?
Location
441 E Fordham Rd, The Bronx
New York NY 10458
Email requests
For all media inquiries:
Desislava Stoeva, dstoeva@fordham.edu
For oral history interviews:
Kathleen LaPenta, klapenta@fordham.edu
For fundraising:
Jacqueline Reich, jreich8@fordham.edu
For photo archive questions:
Rachel Meyer, rmeyer15@fordham.edu
