FACULTY PROFILES
Cirien Saadeh, PhD, Faculty & Department Coordinator
www.journalismofcolor.com
Dr. Cirien Saadeh is an educator, community organizer, and community-trained journalist who works at the intersections of journalism, social movement development, experiential education, and sustainability. Saadeh has written for local, national, and international publications and is committed to using community journalism and community journalism education to build power in and deconstruct systems of oppression in historically marginalized communities.
Saadeh founded the Journalism of Color Training Center, a community journalism school, community journalism support organization, and soon-to-launch newsroom. She also teaches at Prescott College in the Social Justice and Community Organizing (SJCO) and Social Justice Studies (SJS) programs and is the SJCO Department Coordinator.
Saadeh received her Ph.D. in Sustainability Education from Prescott College in 2019. As part of her doctoral program, she developed a theory, “Journalism of Color,” which asks how we develop sustainable journalism platforms and spaces in historically marginalized communities and create journalism methodologies that build community power and resilience.
Additionally, Saadeh has a Master of Arts in the Humanities, focusing on justice, activism, and solidarity as well a Master of Science in Resilient and Sustainable Communities, both from Prescott College. Saadeh’s community organizing apprenticeship was completed at the Organizing Apprenticeship Project (now Voices for Racial Justice) and through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Neighborhood Leadership and Organizing Program. She serves on the Board of The Alley Communications, a Twin Cities-based newspaper, and most recently served on the Board of the Journalism & Women Symposium.
In 2024, Saadeh’s Journalism of Color Training Center launched a non-academic certificate in community journalism in partnership with local newsrooms. Saadeh is currently working on a zine exploring the how-to of anti-racist community journalism, utilizing the Journalism of Color methodology. An open-source anti-racist community journalism handbook and curricular resources is planned for 2025.
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Courtney Wooten, Adjunct Instructor
Hello! I'm glad to be a part of your learning journey here at Prescott.
I have a long history in community education as a part of my organizing praxis, and I began teaching at Prescott College in Fall 2022. I'm originally from Berkeley/Oakland, CA, and I’ve called the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish in western WA my home for nearly 20 years now. I live in a multigenerational household with my parents, my partner, our two homeschooled daughters, and a handful of animals. I make a living as an equity consultant and community educator, often in education, non-profits, executive leadership, and faith communities. My academic focus has always been on collective liberation, and I use abolitionist, queer, disability justice-centered, and womanist frameworks to support communities of care and belonging.
I hold a BA in Sociology from Stanford University, an MA from Prescott's SJCO program, and I'm also finishing up my PhD in Sustainability Education. My primary focus in research is on belonging and bridging as a foundational part of healthy communities--how do we do our liberatory work together?
In my free time, I love to make art--mixed media and painting is my jam!--and I almost always have music playing in the background.
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Craig Willse, PhD, Adjunct Instructor
Craig Willse is a teacher and freelance editor living in Los Angeles, where he is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. He is the author of The Value of Homelessness: Managing Surplus Life in the United States (University of Minnesota Press) and has a PhD in Sociology from the CUNY Graduate Center. His first novel, Providence, is forthcoming in April 2024 from Union Square.