These are profiles of PAC past and upcoming presenters, and other affiliates. Many of them are available to sit in on panels or contribute to discussions about SF, comics, pop culture, etc.

PAC Coordinating Board

Kari Neely, PhD                Personal Website
Volunteer & Member Coordinator
Kari Neely is an Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University. She can be reached by email at Kari.Neely@mtsu.edu

John Flowers, PhD           Personal Website

Johnathan Flowers is an assistant professor in the department of philosophy at California State University, Northridge. Johnathan can be reached by email at j.charlesflowers@gmail.com.

Matthew J. Brown, PhD     Personal Website
Founder, Track Liaison

Boydston Chair of American Philosophy, Director of The Center for Dewey Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Former Associate Professor of Philosophy and History of Ideas and Director, Center for Values in Medicine Science and Technology at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Professor Brown received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of California, San Diego in 2009. His main research interests are in history and philosophy of science, the role of values and ethics in science, the role of science in politics and popular culture, and the nature of scientific reasoning and inquiry. He also works on comics studies, particularly on the history of comics and gender issues in the superhero genre. His various interests intersect in his ongoing research into the scientific and pop culture work of William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman. He is also the founder of CPAC. His current favorites include Bitch Planet, Unbelievable Squirrel Girl, and Mad Max: Fury Road. 

Damien Williams, PhD    Personal Website

Assistant Professor at University of North Carolina Charlotte, Department of Philosophy, School of Data Science.

Damien Williams is an instructor, researcher, and writer on philosophy, technology, religion, popular culture, and the occult.  He holds a PhD in Science, Technology, and Society and a Masters in Philosophy and Religious Studies with a concentration in Occult Systems. Over the years, Damien has worked to explore the intersections of pop-culture, science, and the academic study of the occult. In addition to being on the programming committee of the Comics & Popular Arts Conference for several consecutive years, Damien teaches, researches, writes articles, gives presentations, and appears on podcasts, to discuss the impact that studying media and pop cultural representations of autonomous created intelligences, alchemy, magic, and the occult can have on the philosophical, social, and legal status of those concepts. His current favorites include Bitch Planet, The Wicked + The Divine, Injection, and MARVEL/NETFLIX’s Luke Cage.

Richard Scott Nokes, PhD     Personal Website 
 Volunteer & Member Coordinator
Associate Professor of Medieval Literature at Troy University.

He earned his PhD from Wayne State University in 2002, and has won various grants, awards, and recognition from the Newberry Consortium, Fulbright, and the White House, as well as other private and civic organizations. His research interests include  medieval magic and medicine, popular medievalism, mythology, folklore, and fantasy literature. He is a published poet and author of fiction, and his own academic books and articles vary from JRR Tolkien to Maya epic literature. In addition to his own writings, Professor Nokes founded Witan Publishing, a small publishing company focused on medieval scholarship, and has edited works on medieval combat, manuscript production, and editions of various medieval works. He can be contacted at rsnokes@troy.edu.

Daniel Amrhein   Personal Website
Co-chair, Director of Communications

Daniel Amrhein is an independent scholar and comics historian with a BFA in Art and Art History from Armstrong State University. He is the founder of JourneyIntoAwesome and has spoken about superheroines on KCUR 89.3, at the Synchronicity Theatre, and at various academic and fan conventions. His main areas of study include the history and mythology of Wonder Woman, semiotics of comics, visual modes of objectification, the history of superheroines, representations of the Other, grassroots diversification of representation in cosplay and fan art, 1940s comics history, and diversity in Star Wars. His current favorites include Saga, Bitch Planet, ODY-C, Kaptara, Rat Queens, Mighty Thor, Ms. Marvel, Mad Max: Fury Road, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Star Wars Rebels. Daniel can be contacted through his website.

Vickie Navarra, PhD         Personal Website

Research Associate at Georgia State University. Dr. Navarra received her Ph.D. in English from GSU in 2011. She specializes in critical theory and rhetoric and composition, and her research interests include music, sci-fi/fantasy, and gender studies.  Her publications include “Be-in-tween the Spa[  ]ces: The Location and Subversion of Women in Jazz” in the Journal of American Culture (winner of the William M. Jones Award) and “Joining the Evil League of Evil: The Rhetoric of Posthuman Negotiation” in Reading Joss Whedon.  She is also the co-editor of Geek Rock: An Exploration of Music and Subculture.  Dr. Navarra can be contacted at vnavarra@gsu.edu

Jillian Marie Browning        Personal Website
Co-chair, Track Liaison

Assistant Professor of Photography at University of Alabama,  Birmingham.

Jillian Marie Browning is an interdisciplinary artist with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from Florida State University. They are a nationally exhibiting artist whose work is included in the permanent collections of the Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Southeast Center for Photographic Studies, and the University of Maryland’s David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora.   
Their practice focuses on the concept of feminine identity through the lens of the contemporary black experience. It deals with the intersection of feminism and race, and how the two are constructed through the investigation of social, familial, and gender roles in relation to their southern heritage and what that means to them as a black woman. Their pop culture research focuses on the representation of black hair and culture in sci-fi and comic books, especially creator-owned comics that feature queer narratives and the black female experience. 
Their current favorites are Ironheart, Monica Rambeau, Misty Knight, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Unstoppable Wasp, Star Trek: Discovery, Norwegian teen drama SKAM, and K-pop. Jillian can be contacted by email at Jillianmariebrowning@gmail.com 

 Erin Gordon               Personal Website
Co-chair, Programming Director

Associate Director, Loans and Exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago. Former Museum Director at the Southeast Museum of Photography at Daytona State College.

Erin Gordon received an MA in Fashion Photography from the University of the Arts London: London College of Fashion in 2013 and completed a second MA in History and Criticism of Art from Florida State University in 2016. Her formal background in fine-art and art history informs her research, which interrogates pop culture and visual rhetoric, and explores gender roles, feminism, fan studies, and representations of women in popular media. She enjoys the juxtaposition of fine art and pop art, and still occasionally makes photographs. Erin’s favorites are Saga, The Wicked + The Divine, Bitch Planet, Die comic, Star Trek, Captain Marvel, Critical Role, and The Adventure Zone. Erin can be contacted by email at eringordonofficial@gmail.com

PAC Past Presenters