Mneesha Gellman

Mneesha Gellman is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College in Boston, MA. She is the founder and Director of the Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI), which brings college education to incarcerated students at Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord. Her work bridges academic research with practical application through prison education programs and collaborations with Indigenous communities in Northern California and southern Mexico.

Dr. Gellman earned her PhD in Political Science from Northwestern University, an MA in International Studies/Peace and Conflict Resolution from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a BA in Political Studies from Bard College. She has lived, worked, and studied on six continents.

Her research focuses on comparative democratization, cultural resilience, memory and violence politics, and education policy in the Global South and the United States. She examines how marginalized communities use memories of violence to advocate for cultural rights, particularly mother tongue education, and investigates representation of minority groups in educational materials. Her recent work explores decolonization and human rights across various spaces including high schools, colleges, prisons, and educational media.

Dr. Gellman's publications reveal consistent engagement with themes of cultural preservation, educational justice, and political mobilization. Her work spans comparative case studies across Mexico, Turkey, El Salvador, and the United States, with particular attention to Indigenous communities and their struggles for cultural recognition and survival through educational systems.

Her scientific awards and recognitions include:

• US Fulbright Scholar in Mexico
• Rotary World Peace Fellow
• Senior Fellow at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media in Germany (2022)
• Past President of the Human Rights Section of the American Political Science Association (2022-2023)
• Section President of the Human Rights Section of the American Political Science Association (2023-2024)

As Director of the Emerson Prison Initiative, Dr. Gellman works with the Massachusetts Department of Correction, Emerson College, and other partners to implement a Bachelor of Arts in Media, Literature, and Culture for incarcerated students. She has secured grants including a six-month fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media (January-June 2020) and a two-year grant for the Culture Kids: Cultural Competency and Language Politics project (2019-2021). She also serves as a pro bono expert witness for asylum hearings regarding country conditions in El Salvador and Mexico.

Dr. Gellman leads the Culture Kids Project in collaboration with the Yurok Tribe's Education Department to document the impact of Indigenous-language access in public education. This work extends to southern Mexico where she conducts cultural resilience projects, examining how education supports wellbeing and political participation among marginalized youth.