27th Annual Unity Conference:
Oct. 2 & 3, 2025

Nicola A. Corbin, Ph.D. is a professor of communication at Weber State University who teaches public relations and mass media courses, and directs the university’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. 

Megan M. Van Deventer (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is an associate professor of English Education and the Director of English Teaching at Weber State University. As a teacher educator, her research interests include diversity in children’s and young adult literature and equitable instructional strategies for teaching reading and writing in secondary classrooms. Currently, she is examining book advocacy in ideologically complex settings. This fall, Megan is teaching an Honors course titled Under Fire: Banned and Censored Young Adult Literature. Megan enjoys partnering with local school districts to support teachers to ensure learning is an accessible and enjoyable endeavor for all K-12 students.

Wendy Holliday is Dean of the Library and Academic Support at Weber State University in Ogden, UT. Prior to joining her colleagues at Weber State, she served as Head of Teaching, Learning, and Research Services at Cline Library, Northern Arizona University and Coordinator of Library Instruction at Utah State University. Prior to becoming a librarian, she was the Hopi Tribal Archivist and a public historian. She holds an MLS from the University of Illinois and a PhD in history from New York University.

Laís Martínez is the proud first generation daughter of immigrant parents and grandparents from El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. She is a mother, community member, sister, and friend. These identities have informed her work as an educator and administrator working in Student Affairs and Higher Education Leadership and Policy. Laís holds a Master of Education with an emphasis in Education, Culture, and Society from the University of Utah. In 2017, Laís joined the Utah System of Higher Education managing statewide access and outreach programs. As the inaugural Assistant Commissioner for Belonging & Opportunity she had the unique opportunity to work in collaboration with many community, government, and business leaders to address systemic change in higher education through policy, programming, and funding. Providing state strategy for efforts to close attainment disparities she led the collective creation of the USHE Equity Lens Framework (pdf). She is currently serving as a board member for the Community Justice Advocates of Utah (CJAU) Board. 

Dr. Richard Price (they/them) is the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Endowed Professor of Political Science at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. They received a B.A. in political science and history from Western Washington University, a J.D. from Roger Williams University, and a Ph.D. in political science from Syracuse University. Their work focuses on the censorship of literature in schools and libraries over the past half century with a particular focus on attempts to censor LGTBQ inclusive material. They recently published “Silencing Trans Voices” exploring common themes in the demand to ban trans inclusive books. They are currently working on two books: Island Trees v. Pico: First Amendment, Libraries, and Book Banning and The Perils of Queer Literature.  

Mia is a first-generation college student from Las Vegas, Nevada, majoring in Political Science, with a minor in Marketing at Weber State. Professionally, she wants to work on political campaigns, fundraising, and in nonprofit leadership. She served as the Executive Vice President as a Sophomore and ran a team of 23 student senators. She is now serving as the Student Body President, overseeing the Weber State Student Association. She is also a Weber State Admissions Ambassador, where she works to help recruit a wide range of students to Weber's open-access policy. After graduating, she has plans to get her Master's Degree.