Meet the staff

Eli is part of the student staff working at the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center this year. He is working towards majoring in art, specifically a BFA and also enjoys working with 3D visual/studio artwork. He is new to the campus but lives close enough to commute from home and has lived near Madison all his life. He is passionate about trans related topics and issues in the LGBTQ+ community. Aside from that, he’s interested in skiing and drumming and is looking forward to finding fun clubs to join and is planning to join the rowing team.

Elijah is the first-year engagement intern for the GSCC. Not new to the area, Elijah has spent most his life in Madison. No foreigner to the campus, he has spent years on the campus through out his time in the PEOPLE program. Currently undecided, Elijah is looking to pursue a degree in psychology. He is passionate about advocating for those who have their voices stolen, working with students of color and unmarginalized groups, and building lasting and meaning connections with those he interacts with. As the first year engagement intern he will be able to bring new and creative ways for first year students to get more engaged with the campus center’s events, as well as provide a way for students to voice events and programs they would like to see from the Campus Center.

Isha Camara is a twenty-year-old sophomore hailing from South Minneapolis and a proud Aries. Shes a current 3rd year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and majority in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Afro Am. She’s in poetry, visual art and discussions on almost everything. Isha’s purpose is to give a narrative that create conversations driven by tenderness and encourage readers to be caring and gentle to a life not theirs, learning how there are human beings with dreams, fears and desires outside of their way of living that are just as normal and human.

Donnie Otto (he/him) is a Masters Student in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis program. He was born and raised in Milwaukee and completed his undergrad at UW Oshkosh with a Spanish Language degree. In his free time, he likes cuddling with cats, trying new things, and eating spicy foods.

Sami Estrada is the Leadership and Program Student Staff in the GSCC. In addition to being a Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) Scholar, Sami is an undergraduate student majoring in psychology with certificates in LGBTQ+ Studies and most likely Disability Rights and Services. They identify as being a biracial, disabled, nonbinary, and pansexual/bisexual second-generation immigrant whose father is from Mexico. Sami currently runs The Pride Society, a Registered Student Organization at UW-Madison, along with being involved with Qouncil and the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs’s Cabinet of Student Leaders. They are passionate about fostering community, advocating for intersectionality and inclusivity, challenging heteronormativity and cisnormativity, and guzzling Slurpees.

cecil leigh wilson is a trans, crip, & queer doctoral candidate in the dept. of german, nordic, and slavic. ze teaches a variety of courses in slavic languages/literatures and quelp; hir primary research is on disability and holy fools in russian literature. ze loves cephalopods, fiber crafts, the color range between burgundy and eggplant, and conrad veidt.

Alex Little is a part-time graduate student in the School of Social Work, currently working toward their MSW. They graduated with their bachelor’s degree in Gender & Women’s Studies and International Studies from UW-Madison in 2015. They are passionate about: healthy relationships, survivor advocacy, affirmative consent culture, their plant babies, winter hats with pompoms, handstands, and their sweet bun son, Genji Stuart. In addition to the GSCC they work for UHS as a Violence Prevention Peer Educator, and they intern at the Canopy Center in the Oasis Therapy program. Feel free to ask them about any of the above!

Aidan Aragon is a poet and undergraduate student from Northeastern Wisconsin double majoring in English and Gender and Women’s Studies. They are a first generation college student hoping to pursue a graduate degree or higher, however currently a first year they’re excited to make it past finals. Aside from school and writing he’s likely to be found catching up on everyone’s favorite show from three years ago or thinking about catching up on his TBR pile.

M.Rose Sweetnam is the Event and Accessibility Coordinator. They are an undergraduate majoring in Gender and Women’s Studies, along with LGBTQ+ Studies, and Studio Art. M.Rose grew up in Madison,WI and is passionate about creating positive change in the community while they are here. They participate in a number of community organizations including LGBT Books to Prisoners, the Trans Research Lab, and the Wisconsin Transgender Health Coalition, which build queer spaces and practice activism in and around LGBTQ+ identity and its many intersections.  Much of M.Rose’s research centers around queer identity and mental health. They are passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and forging greater access to culturally competent mental health care for queer and trans folks. Along with their position at the Gender & Sexuality Campus Center, M.Rose also works as a Peer Violence Prevention Specialist at University Health Services, and a Youth Educator at the Arts + Literature Laboratory.

Dequadray is an interdisciplinary artist from Forest Park, GA creating worlds where the radical is normative. From his marrow, he believes it is our responsibility to demand liberation and joy for ourselves, families, and community, to use our power to conjure a better place. for folks most marginalized and impacted by inequity. 

Mars (she/they) is currently in Madison for their Master of Library and Information Science degree. They graduated from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities with a Bachelor of Individualized Studies and worked at the GSCC equivalent on campus (QSCC) before moving back to Wisconsin. In their work and their personal life, they focus on representation, diversity, queer and trans experiences, and experiences of people of color. They love their friends, family, and their cat. (Her name is Bitsy and she is the best girl in the world.) In addition to their work at the GSCC, they work at the LIS library in Helen C. White, and can usually be found there being a library gremlin.