Mika’il Petin, PhD Cultural Studies '16, is an impassioned professional with more than 20 years of experience in solving problems within private and public organizations. His doctorate in cultural studies, which combines critical race theory, gender studies and conflict theory, orients him toward social justice. Drawing from lived experiences as an able-bodied, forty-something, cis-gendered, heterosexual Black American man from a blue-collar family in the U.S. South, he is thoughtful, resourceful and pragmatic.
Petin has spent 15 years progressively advocating for the historically underrepresented and/or marginalized through roles at Motlow State Community College, Illinois College, George Mason University, and All Hearts and Hands.
He is currently the Equity, Inclusion & Strategic Initiatives Director at States Newsroom. In this role he works with the executive team to actualize new and ongoing goals while infusing knowledge and best practices in organizational planning, communications, policy making, professional development, hiring/retention, and broadly, community-building.
Petin also volunteers his time to Mason as a member of the CHSS Dean's Advisory Board.