Destry Maria Sibley
Education
PhD Candidate, CUNY Graduate Center Department of English, expected May 2024
Areas of interest: contemporary American autobiography and memoir, maternal narratives, oral history, affect studies, digital humanities
Dissertation: After Mother: Genres of the Maternal in Twenty-First Century Memoir
Kandice Chuh (dir.), Mary McGlynn, Amber Jamilla Musser
Provost Enhancement Fellow2017 MA CUNY Graduate Center
Liberal Studies with dual tracks in Data Visualization and Life Writing
Multimedia capstone: “No More False Heavens: In the Wake of Campus Sexual Violence”2009 BA Amherst College
Interdisciplinary Studies, nominated for Summa Cum Laude
Honors thesis: “Contesting Poverty, Patriarchy and Patronage: Grassroots Development and the Ultra Poor of Rural Bangladesh”
Study abroad semesters in Cochabamba, Bolivia and Santiago, Chile
Research and Teaching Interests
Twentieth-century and contemporary literary and cultural studies, U.S. literatures, American studies, life writing, oral history, affect theory, women of color feminism, queer theory, maternal narratives, digital humanities, radio and new media studies
Awards, Fellowships, and Grants
2023 Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Innovation Fellowship
2023 PEN/Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History
2023 CUNY Graduate Center Alumni and Faculty Dissertation Year Fellowship
2023 Women Writing Women’s Lives Kathy Chamberlain Research Award
2022 CUNY Graduate Center Millennium Dissertation Year Fellowship
2022 City College of New York Feder Grant for Pedagogical Enrichment
2021 City College of New York Rifkind Humanities and Arts Teaching Award
2021 CUNY Graduate Center Early Research Initiative Award for Archival Research in African American and African Diaspora Studies
2019 WNYC Podcast Accelerator Competition winner
2018 CUNY Graduate Center Provost’s Enhancement Fellowship
2017 Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship in Mexico City, Mexico
2017 Information is Beautiful team award for best visualization in Sports, Games & Leisure
2014 New York Public Library Helen Gurley Brown Education Fellowship
2009 Amherst College Hamilton Houston Award to one student of the graduating class exemplifying a commitment to public service
2009 Amherst College Center for Community Engagement Fellowship for Action for thesis research in Bangladesh
2009 Amherst College Center for Community Engagement Community-Based Learning Grant for thesis research in Bangladesh
2008 Amherst College Alpha Delta Phi Grant for thesis research in Bangladesh
2008 Amherst College Wolansky Family Research Grant for thesis research in Bangladesh
2005 Amherst College Fellowship for Action for volunteership in Nicaragua
Books: Authored
The Children of Morelia: Child Refugees of the Spanish Civil War, non-fiction manuscript-in-progress; book proposal on submission
Books: Contributed and consulted
Different: A Story of the Spanish Civil War, Mónica Montañés, translated by Lawrence Schimel, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2022 (consulted)
Mexique: A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War, María José Ferrada, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2020 (consulted)
The Transformation of this World Depends Upon You, Wendy Ewald, Fazal Sheikh, et al., Steidl, 2013 (contributed)
Digital Media Publications: Authored
“The Children of Morelia,” reporter and producer, The New Yorker Radio Hour, April 23, 2021
“No More False Heavens: In the Wake of Campus Sexual Violence,” author, September 2017
Digital Media Publications: Produced
“We Started As An Affair,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, May 12, 2022
“Twice Married, To Each Other,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, March 31, 2022
“I Don’t Mean to Be Mean But…,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, December 2021
“I Can Be Strong and Be Taken Care Of,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, December 2021
“Before We Got Together I Identified as Gay,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, November 2021
“The Unhoused House Sitters of Los Angeles,” producer, The New Yorker Radio Hour, June 25, 2021
“He Gets the Respect, She Gets the Toilet Paper,” producer, How’s Work? With Esther Perel, April 27, 2021
“How Trump Closed the U.S. to Asylum Seekers,” producer, The New Yorker Radio Hour, February 5, 2021
“Waves of Interest,” content producer, Google News Lab and Truth & Beauty Operations, 2020
“Making the Invisible Visible with Ai-jen Poo and Crystal Echo Hawk,” producer, Wonderland, 2020
“2020: America’s Unexpected Cultural Force with Shawn Taylor, Tracy Van Slyke, and Jeff Yang,” producer, Wonderland, 2020
“Lessons From a Sociopath,” producer, Sincerely, X from TED, December 31, 2020
“Lethal Doubt,” producer, Sincerely, X from TED, November 19, 2020
“DNA Secrets,” producer, Sincerely, X from TED, November 5, 2020
“After the Cult,” producer, Sincerely, X from TED, October 29, 2020
“Burdens of the Family,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, August 20, 2020
“He Loves Her, His Family Rejects Her,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, August 13, 2020
“It’s Very Hard to Live with a Saint,” producer, Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel, July 23, 2020
“The Boss, the Client, and the Hairdresser,” producer, How’s Work? With Esther Perel, January 14, 2020
“From Bartender to Business Partner,” producer, How’s Work? With Esther Perel, December 17, 2019
“Laid Off and Starting Over,” producer, How’s Work? With Esther Perel, December 3, 2019
“Sex Work: The Unofficial Resume,” producer, How’s Work? With Esther Perel, November 12, 2019
“Interview with Professor of History and African-American and African Diaspora Studies Frank Guridy,” producer, The Dean’s Table, April 24, 2019
“Interview with Economics Professor Dan O’Flaherty,” producer, The Dean’s Table, April 24, 2019
“Interview with African-American and African Diaspora Studies Chair and Professor of English Farah Jasmine Griffin,” producer, The Dean’s Table, April 24, 2019
“Turning Data into Sound with Hannah Davis,” producer, Data Stories, April 18, 2019
“Abortion is Our Right,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, March 15, 2019
“Simulated Dendrochronology of U.S. Immigration with Pedro Cruz and John Wihbey,” producer, Data Stories, March 7, 2019
“Interview with Anthropology Professor Claudio Lomnitz,” producer, The Dean’s Table, February 1, 2019
“Interview with Professor of International and Public Affairs Ester Fuchs,” producer, The Dean’s Table, February 1, 2019
“Interview with Sociology Professor Jennifer Lee,” producer, The Dean’s Table, January 31, 2019
“The Power of Poetry with Tracy K. Smith,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, January 25, 2019
“Visualizing Uncertainty with Jessica Hullman and Matthew Kay,” producer, Data Stories, January 19, 2019
“Intimate Secrets,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, January 18, 2019
“Delicious Company with Samin Nosrat,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, December 7, 2018
“Post-Midterm Decompression with Levar Burton,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, November 9, 2018
“Fall Books 2018,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, November 2, 2018
“Secret Shades with Alicia Garza,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, October 26, 2018
“A Woman’s Anger with Rebecca Traister,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, October 5, 2018
“Pay Caregivers Fairly with Ai-jen Poo,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, September 28, 2018
“Storytelling with Data with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic,” producer, Data Stories, September 26, 2018
“Give People Money with Annie Lowery,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, September 21, 2018
“Kamala,” producer, Call Your Girlfriend, August 10, 2018
“Xenographics with Maarten Lambrechts,” producer, Data Stories, July 18, 2018
“Making Data Visual with Miriah Meyer and Danyel Fisher,” producer, Data Stories, April 12, 2018
“After Suicides, A Texas Veterinary Community Opens Up,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, February 7, 2018
“Feminist Data Visualization with Catherine D’Iganzio,” producer, Data Stories, November 23, 2017
“How Culture Works with Alyssa Rosenberg,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“The Humanity of Storytelling with Heidi Boisvert and Saket Soni,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“The American Songbook with Cristina Jimenez and Ryan Senser,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“The In-Between Space with Ai-Jen Poo and Schuyler Brown,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“Artists Fuel Change with Mahyad Tousi and Bridgit Antoinette Evans,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“Anatomy of a Story with Diana Son and Rachel Lloyd,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“Power to the People with Shawn Taylor and Tracy Van Slyke, Alicia Garza and Kenyatta Cheese,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“From Cultural Presence to Cultural Power with Rashad Robinson,” producer, Wonderland, November 11, 2017
“What Lisa Ling Regrets,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, November 8, 2017
“Why She Steals: Your Reactions,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, October 18, 2017
“Why I Steal,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, September 27, 2017
“Katie Couric on Death and Dishonesty,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, August 23, 2017
“Our Student Loan Secrets, Parts 1 and 2,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, June 28 & 29, 2017
“Hari Kondabolu and His Mom Answer Your Life Questions,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, May 24, 2017
“Newlywed and Paralyzed,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, April 26, 2017
“The Rhythm of Food,” content producer, Google News Lab and Truth & Beauty Operations, November 28, 2016
“Indexical Visualization with Dietmar Offenhuber,” producer, Data Stories, October 10, 2016
“We’re Not Going to Have Karl Again,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, July 13, 2016
“Inside Planned Parenthood,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, June 22, 2016
“Listening to Data from Space with Scott Hughes,” producer, Data Stories, June 1, 2016
“Data Ethics and Privacy with Eleanor Saitta,” producer, Data Stories, May 18, 2016
“From Conversion Therapy to Rainbow Yarmulke,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, May 11, 2016
“Diane Guerrero on Debt and Deportation,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, April 27, 2016
“When I Almost Died,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, April 20, 2016
“Falling in Love…With Heroin,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, March 2, 2016
“Poemage: Data Visualization for Poets with Miriah Meyer and Nina McCurdy,” producer, Data Stories, February 24, 2016
“‘I Quant NY’: Finding Surprising Stories in NYC Open Data with Ben Wellington,” producer, Data Stories, January 15, 2016
“Stop Calling Me the ‘Homeless Valedictorian,’” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, December 18, 2015
“Autism Isn’t What I Signed Up For,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, December 9, 2015
“‘Dear Data’ with Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec,” producer, Data Stories, November 25, 2015
“Text Visualization: Past, Present and Future with Chris Collins,” producer, Data Stories, October 29, 2015
“An Astronaut’s Husband, Left Behind,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, October 7, 2015
“The Sex Worker Next Door,” assistant producer, Death, Sex & Money, September 23, 2015
Research
2020 - 2022 Research and Editorial Consultant for Eedrmans Books for Young Readers
2018 - 2019 Research Assistant to Professors Meena Alexander and Morris Dickstein
2017 - 2018 Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship
2012 - 2013 Research Assistant and Project Coordinator to artists Fazal Sheikh and Wendy Ewald
Teaching and Other academic appointments
2020 - 2021 Graduate Teaching Fellow, English Department, The City College of New York
Spring 2022 English elective seminar, “Literary Genres: Historical Narrative”
Fall 2021 English elective seminar, “Maternal Narratives”
Spring 2021 English elective seminar, “Mexican Voices and Letters”
Fall 2020 English elective seminar, “Oral History”2019 - 2020 CUNY Pipeline Program Mentor
2018 - 2019 Graduate Research Assistant, English Department, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Fall 2018 English elective seminar, “Multiple Modernities, Women and the Archive,” Professor Meena Alexander
2015 - 2016 Community Facilitator, OpenLab, New York City College of Technology
2013 Student Trainer, Center for Community Engagement, Amherst College
2012 - 2013 Program Assistant, Transformation Project, Springfield Technical Community College
Other Professional experience
2015 - 2022 Tutor, Zinc Educational Services, New York, NY
2014 - 2015 Helen Gurley Brown Education Fellow, New York Public Library, Bronx, NY
2011 - 2013 Popular Educator, Springfield No One Leaves community organization, Springfield, MA
2012 - 2013 Community Organizer, Voices of the Community/Voces de la Comunidad, Springfield, MA
2011 - 2012 Community Organizer, North End Campus Coalition, Springfield, MA
2010 - 2011 Interim Director, Holyoke Community Land Trust, Holyoke, MA
Conference Presentations
2022 “‘Carrying the Weight of the World': Affective Expectation in 21st-Century Black Maternal Grief Memoir, Northeast Modern Language Association
2021 “‘I Would Just Be Mute’: On the Creative Potential of Women’s Collective Memoir,” Northeast Modern Language Association
2021 “On the Post-Traumatic Power of Not Publishing: A Personal Case Study of a Digital Memoir,” Northeast Modern Language Association
2019 “The Affect of Austerity: Solar Bones, City of Bohane, and The Spinning Heart in Post-Recession Ireland,” American Conference for Irish Studies
2018 “Los Niños de Morelia: 80 Years in Exile,” National Geographic Nights
2018 “Taller de Oral History” (Oral History Workshop), College of Mexico Library Conference
2017 “Los Niños de Morelia: A Review of 80 Years in Exile,” Fulbright-COMEXUS Midyear Conference
2016 “Open Digital Pedagogy: A Game-Based Workshop with City Tech’s OpenLab Team,” Teach@CUNY Day
2016 “City Tech’s OpenLab Online Community: Walking the Talk of Openness in Undergraduate Education,” Coordinated Undergraduate Education Conference, CUNY
2016 “Better to Speak: Teaching Workshop,” co-organizer, The Graduate Center, CUNY
2016 “Better to Speak: Strategies for Women Teaching in the Humanities,” co-organizer, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Narrative Storytelling Experience
2019 - 2023 Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel Podcast, producer
2020 - 2022 Greater Than Podcast from CoGenerate, producer
2020 - 2021 The New Yorker Radio Hour Podcast, WNYC Studios, producer
2016 - 2020 Wonderland Podcast, the Pop Culture Collaborative, producer
2020 Waves of Interest, Google News Lab and Truth & Beauty Operations, content producer
2019 Theses Truths Podcast, PEN America World Voices Festival, consultant
2019 - 2020 Together Apart from the New York Times Podcast, producer
2018 - 2019 How’s Work? with Esther Perel Podcast, producer
2018 - 2019 Sincerely, X from TED Podcast, producer
2018 - 2019 The Dean’s Table with Fredrick Harris from Columbia University School of Social Sciences Podcast, producer
2018 - 2019 Call Your Girlfriend Podcast, associate producer
2015 - 2019 Data Stories Podcast, producer
2015 - 2017 Death, Sex & Money and Here’s The Thing Podcasts, WNYC Studios, production assistant
2016 Wealth Wits Podcast, Slate/Panoply Custom, producer
Other Professional Experience
2013 - 2012 Community Organizer, Voices of the Community/Voces de la Comunidad, Springfield, MA
2011 - 2012 Community Organizer, North End Campus Coalition, Springfield, MA
2010 - 2011 Interim Director, Holyoke Community Land Trust, Holyoke, M
Academic service
2016 Co-organizer, Better to Speak support group for women graduate students teaching in the humanities, CUNY Graduate Center
2008- 2014 Advisory Board Member, Center for Community Engagement, Amherst College
Language Skills
Spanish: Written and spoken fluency
French: Written proficiency
Digital Skills
Content editing: Fluency in ProTools; proficiency in Hindenburg, Keynote, iMovie
Web design: Proficiency in HTML/CSS, WordPress, Squarespace, Google Analytics
Data analysis: Proficiency in R, CartoDB, Highcharts, Adobe Illustrator
Professional associations
Modern Language Association
American Historical Association
Oral History Association
Biographers International Organization
Women Writing Women’s Lives Seminar