2024 marks FI’s 10-year anniversary and provides us with an excellent opportunity to reflect on everything we’ve accomplished in this past decade while continuing to chart a course forward towards a bright future. FI would be nothing without its people, and so we would like to take a moment to congratulate and highlight one of FI’s most valuable assets, Lauren Melendez, who is also celebrating 10 years at the Graduate Center and Futures Initiative.
Lauren is one of FI’s original founders and is the founder and director of the CUNY Peer Leaders, a program that has been supported almost entirely by external grant funding–from the Teagle Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation. In 2017, Lauren received the Employee Recognition Award for Outstanding Achievement, the highest employee award offered by the Graduate Center. This year, she received the Employee Recognition Award for 10 Years of Service during an intimate ceremony at the Graduate Center attended by President Josh Brumberg.
We caught up with Lauren to discuss her time prior to joining the Futures Initiative, what she has found the most inspiring about her work, and what the future holds in store for this talented, hard-working leader.
Tell us a little about your life before CUNY and then what drew you to CUNY?
I obtained my undergraduate degree from Lehman College in Mass Communications and English and was able to enter the media industry. I worked for a decade with TV, radio and digital sales in television and advertising agencies and decided I wanted to return back to CUNY to obtain my Master’s degree. Although, this was not the easiest decision to return back to school since I already had time invested in my current career field, I knew first hand that CUNY prepares the inner city youth, first generation, and students of color to thrive in whatever career paths they desire and at a fraction of the price. I was comforted that, although I was taking a risk, I knew I would be in good hands returning to CUNY. I returned to Hunter College to pursue my Master of Science in Education degree with a concentration in School Counseling in order to prepare the next generation on how to navigate college, navigate the workforce and help them process and heal from trauma and circumstances students from underrepresented communities experience and endure.
Lauren J. Melendez received an Employee Recognition Award earlier this month.
Employees honored for 10 years of service at the Graduate Center. (Photos by Coralie Carlson). https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/50-year-milestone-honored-employee-recognition-breakfast
What are some of your fondest memories from the past 10 years you’ve been part of the Futures Initiative?
I would say some of my fondest memories of working at FI over the years was having the opportunity to see an initiative built from the ground up into a program that has been a source of inspiration that has been a model for equity and innovative practices at the CUNY Graduate Center. With making a transition from Media to Academia, I would say having the opportunity to work closely with and alongside Distinguished Professor and Founding Director Cathy N. Davidson was an honor and privilege, to learn what her vision was for the Futures Initiative, and see it go from a blank canvas to an initiative which focuses systematically and simultaneously on inclusion, equity, and social justice, in both research and teaching, across Graduate Center faculty, professors at CUNY’s four- and two-year campuses, graduate students, and undergraduates.
The FI Undergraduate Leadership Institute August, 2019.
I have fond memories of working with Dr. Katina Rogers, former Co-Director of The Futures Initiative, CUNY Humanities Alliance and Director of Programs and Administration for HASTAC. She was an extraordinary administrator and colleague and also was essential in helping to create systems and structure within the Futures Initiative, mentoring the graduate fellows and helping to secure funding for FI and related programs that continue to thrive and exist from her dedication and brilliant input.
It has also been a privilege to work with Dr. Katina Roger’s successor, Dr. Adashima Oyo, Executive Director of FI, who’s leadership has been unmatched in her role, and with Celi Lebron who is one of my most beloved colleagues at FI. Celi has the ability to hold several positions in addition to pursuing her studies and has a superb talent for stewarding financial processes and navigating complex and antiquated systems. Last but not least, I have the fondest memories from being able to help create and implement the undergraduate programming piece to FI’s puzzle. With the CUNY Peer Leaders, I was able to step into a leadership role, mentoring students from across the two and four year campuses since 2016 and helping to prepare them in developing their skills in research, oral and written communication, collaboration, project management, and digital literacy, all of which helps to prepare them for success as students in college and as future professionals. Over the years I have met so many profoundly bright, studious, motivated and unique students who have given me an incredible sense of fulfillment and gratitude in this role. It has been humbling, rewarding and surprising to see these undergraduate students graduate from their respective campuses go into their work trajectories and post-graduate programs, and witness them come back and let me know how the program has taught them skills they continue to use. The alums often look for opportunities to engage in the program and with future cohorts long after they have left CUNY.
L to R: Dr. Katina Rogers, former FI Co-Director, CUNY Humanities Alliance and Director of Programs and Administration for HASTAC, Dr. Cathy N. Davidson, FI Co-Founder and Faculty Co-Chair, and Lauren Melendez at FI Exhibition and Reception 2015
What’s one important lesson you’ve learned or challenge you’ve had to overcome in your time here?
I would say coming to CUNY back in 2014, where for a decade, we basically had different leadership taking place the entire time at the Graduate Center. For example, early planning of the program was begun under Chancellor Matthew Goldstein and Graduate Center President William Kelly, and brought to fruition by a leadership team of Interim Chancellor Kelly, Graduate Center President Chase Robinson, and Graduate Center Interim Provost Louise Lennihan. I would say the change of leadership being constant often made operational functions like payment processes cumbersome. Navigating some of the day to day work of the program was difficult as a result at times. Also, working full time while pursuing my Master’s degree and fulfilling field work requirements simultaneously proved to be trying years as well. However, working for an Initiative like the Futures Initiative, and being supported by the faculty and staff in our program, meant I was able to be supported during these trying times and was able to see the difference between organizations that talk the talk of “diversity and equity” versus a program like FI that actually does this work for its employees, graduate students and others who are part of the FI stratosphere.
Lauren Melendez (L) and Kaysi Holman (R), Former Deputy Director of the Humanities Alliance at The Digital Media and Learning Conference June 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
So, what’s next for Lauren Melendez?
I have once again recently returned to CUNY for help with directing my next steps. I am currently pursuing my Doctorate of Education degree in Instructional Leadership at Hunter College. I have some ideas of where my current program will help direct me. However, I am a firm believer in not sharing anything you are working on that you want to come into fruition while it is still in the beginning stages so I will say at this time, I plan to help celebrate FI’s 10 year anniversary, and continue to strive for making change within the education landscape in whatever role I hold in the future.
If you are interested in Lauren’s research, you can read her Master’s thesis which won a highly competitive PSC-CUNY Research Award. Exploring Leadership Programs in Academia: A Case Study of Inclusion and Equity with a Social Justice Counseling Framework was published as an Open Access work on Manifold. You can read it here: https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/read/exploring-leadership-programs-in-academia/section/f738a225-4768-4ee5-9b5a-50cd7aebf216
Top left Dr. Danica Savonick, Dr. Lisa Tagliaferri, lower middle Dr. Kalle Westerling, Dr. Michael Dorsch HASTAC Conference 2016 in Arizona State University’s Nexus Lab in Tempe, AZ.
(L)Yadira Vargas, Former Co-Director Dr. Kashema Hutchinson, Steven Pacheco, Kia Thomas, Hip-Hop Pedagogy event, FI Undergraduate leaders 2018-2019 cohort
CUNY Peer Leaders Fall 2023 Kick-off August 2023, pictured is Cathy, Adashima Oyo, Executive Director, Celi Lebron, Budget Manager, Kelsey Milian, former CPL Facilitator, Jackie Cahill, CPL coordinator, Dr. Christina Katopodis, Mellon Senior Researcher
