2011 Panelist Bios
Quinton D. Cotton, M.S.S.A.
Mr. Cotton earned a Master of Science in Social Administration degree with a concentration in Community Development from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve Universit and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Social Welfare from Marquette University.
His most recent professional experience has focused on qualitative research, stakeholder engagement processes, and capacity building of the public and non-profit sectors. Mr. Cotton is currently managing the Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families, a project that addresses Milwaukee’s racial disparity gap in infant mortality. The project supports African-American families and healthy birth outcomes.
Mr. Cotton is a faculty member at Marquette University and previously served on the faculty of Concordia University of Wisconsin. His background includes individual and group psychotherapy and the coordination of community support programs for individuals affected by poverty.
Danae Davis
Ms. Davis the CEO of PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc., a Milwaukee-based girl empowerment and leadership non-profit organization. She previously served as director of diversity affairs at Miller Brewing Company, director of the Department of Employee Relations for the City of Milwaukee, a commissioner on the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, executive assistant at the Department of Employment Relations, legal counsel for Gov. Tony Earl and director of diversity management and work/life programs at Kraft Foods, Inc. Davis is a member of the African American Women's Project of the Women’s Fund of Milwaukee. She is also a member of the UW Systems Board of Regents. Davis is a graduate of UW-Oshkosh, where, in 2002, she was honored as one of four distinguished alumni. She received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Karen Topham
A teacher of English and Drama for 31 years, Karen created a pre-internet media sensation in 1998 when she became the first American high school teacher to transition from male to female on the job. At that point, she refused to grant interviews. Since then, however, she has become much more open about her history, taking part in a gender feature for Newsweek and as a leader of her church advocating for LGBT rights in whatever small ways she can. She has three children, one of whom is also transgender (FTM), three cats, and a happy second marriage to a Wisconsin photographer. She is currently working on four books, two of which are transgender themed.
Dawne Moon
Dr. Dawne Moon is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Marquette University. Her interests include using ethnographic research to learn about identity, culture and politics in the United States to understand how social power works in processes of self-definition.
Fahimeh Vahdat
Born near Tehran, Iran, Fahimeh Vahdat emigrated to England and then to the US in 1980, initially settling in Dallas, Texas. Ms.Vahdat attended Southern Methodist University receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in1988 and a Master of Fine Art in painting and printmaking in 1990. Vahdat’s activist oriented multimedia installations are gaining international attention. Recent venues include the Centro de Recoleta, in Buenos Aires, Argentina and an exhibition in Naples, Italy. She is currently Professor at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where she has taught painting and printmaking for the past 14 years.
