Shanelle Matthews was the university's inaugural activist-in-residence. Beginning in 2017, she spent ten semesters at The New School teaching courses such as聽Black Resistance: 1960鈥揚resent,聽Critical Theory and Social Justice, and聽Resistance Narratives from 21st Century Social Movements. Part of her residency was at Lang's Office of Civic Engagement and Social Justice, with its focus on bridging the gap聽between practice-based social justice work in communities and the rigorous research taking place in academia. In her time at CESJ, she聽partnered with social leaders across New York City in conducting skills-building workshops designed to introduce students to practices they could implement in their organizing and activism. She also moderated a panel discussion with members of the Black Panther Party.听A self-described 鈥減art social science iconoclast, part feminist theory maven,鈥 Matthews is the former director of Communications for聽the聽聽Global Network, to which she brought her years of experience in journalism, litigation, rapid response, and campaign communications.听.听