National Humanities Leadership Council | National Humanities Center

National Humanities Leadership Council

Preparing our nation’s next generation of leaders to face the challenges of the twenty-first century is an imperative shared by educators at every level.

This is especially true at colleges and universities where students not only look to pursue a liberal education but also to discover their passions and hone skills for future careers.

The National Humanities Center has established a National Humanities Leadership Council to help prepare a select group of students with humanities-based leadership skills. Drawn exclusively from nominations advanced by NHC-sponsoring institutions, students accepted to the Council participate in a unique series of interactive experiences with leading humanities scholars and leaders from across the country. In round tables and discussion sessions, they explore the essential importance of humanistic perspectives in addressing the concerns of contemporary society. And, based on the consensus of the Council membership, they may also focus on specific projects and engagement with the communities at their institutions.

National Humanities Leadership Council 2023–24


  • Nafiza Akbar

    The University of Kansas


  • Aruna Balasubramanian

    Yale University


  • Madison Bigelow

    University of Connecticut


  • Kennedy Neil Brooks

    University of North Carolina at Charlotte


  • Madeline Chiang

    University of Notre Dame


  • Weston Blair Curnow

    The University of Kansas


  • Julie Marie Deacon

    Virginia Tech University


  • Malia Detar Cheung

    Wesleyan University


  • Chisom Ezigbo

    Duke University


  • Darya Farah Foroohar

    The University of Chicago


  • Madeline Graf

    Macalester College


  • Peiyao Guo

    Stony Brook University


  • Autumn Hall

    The University of Tennessee, Knoxville


  • Jonathan David Hazel

    Arizona State University


  • Mia Amor Hernandez

    California State University, Fresno


  • Connor George Kaufmann

    University of Notre Dame


  • Irma Flóra Kiss

    University of Pennsylvania


  • Aditi Kumar

    Hamilton College


  • Karen Lau

    University of Connecticut


  • Dylan Tinashe Manguwa

    Hamilton College


  • Aaron Joseph Minzer

    Wesleyan University


  • Lindsay Elizabeth Moynihan

    University of Maryland, College Park


  • Shirly Keyli Yamali Rodas Figueroa

    Macalester College


  • Brandon Reese Sewell, Jr.

    University of Memphis


  • Ross Shapiro

    The University of Chicago


  • Samantha Simon

    Bard College


  • Michael Terrenzi

    Brandeis University


  • Emma Grace Whitlock

    Appalachian State University


  • Xiyun Wu

    University of Notre Dame


  • Justice Yoo

    The University of Chicago


  • Yuyao Zhang

    New York University


  • Miranda Zhong

    Duke University

Previous Council Members