LeeRay Costa

LeeRay Costa is director of faculty development and professor and chair of the gender and women’s studies program at Hollins University. As a graduate of the Higher Education Resource Services Leadership Institute, she is committed to supporting and advancing the leadership of more women and members of historically marginalized groups in the academy. Her research, teaching, and community activism focus on social justice and a desire to understand processes of social change. Trained as a feminist cultural anthropologist, she has conducted ethnographic fieldwork on women’s activism and nongovernmental organizations in Thailand, on transgender youth (Male Bodies, Women’s Souls, co-authored with Andrew Matzner, 2007), and on the local food movement in Hawaii . Her current interests include exploring the integration of contemplative practices and spirituality into social justice education, higher education administration, and social movement activism.