Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

Throughout her professional and academic careers, Bobbie has focused on the intersection of cultural knowledge, storytelling, economics, and tourism. Currently, Bobbie is finishing her Ph.D. focused on Indigenous-led Tourism and Cultural Resurgence through the Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia. Recently, Bobbie co-wrote and co-edited a volume entitled, “Socializing Tourism: Rethinking Tourism for Social and Ecological Justice.”

Bobbie is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is a Cherokee Nation citizen and is proud of her mixed Cantonese, European American, and Cherokee heritage. Bobbie received her bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and Chinese language at Washington University in St. Louis. There, her experiences as a Mellon Mays Research Fellow took her to southwestern China where she examined the cultural impacts of tourism for the Indigenous Naxi people of Yunan province. Bobbie obtained her master’s degree in peace and conflict resolution as a Rotary Peace Fellow at the University of Queensland and also possesses an M.Sc. degree in arts and culture administration.

In 2009, Bobbie went to Cambodia as a Fulbright Scholar to study the impact of tourism on cultural and art revival in post-conflict contexts. After her Fulbright program concluded, Bobbie stayed in Cambodia to continue working with her partnering organization, Cambodian Living Arts. In this capacity, she helped run the Cambodian Youth Arts Festival and develop the organization’s first sustainable tourism programs.

Sanjeev Chatterjee is a professor in the departments of Cinematic Arts and Journalism at the University of Miami. His work focuses on visual storytelling as a bridge for understanding differences. He is currently the principal investigator in a multidisciplinary project at the University of Miami titled “Racism in America: Beyond Black and White.” The project explores the attitudes of individuals from immigrant communities of color in Miami-Dade County and their American children, towards African Americans.

Sanjeev is the founder and president of the Florida-based nonprofit organization, Media for Change, founded in 2017. Media for Change aims to build a global network of media changemakers dedicated to supporting other nonprofit organizations with their communication needs.

During his time in India for his two Fulbright-Nehru scholarships, Sanjeev worked with faculty and students at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. In 2011, his project “East Kolkata Wetlands – A 360° View” created a public information campaign to highlight the true value of the wetlands to the city of Kolkata. In 2018, his project, “Porous City” sought to bridge the gap between elite city-dwelling students at an elite university and first-generation college students who were new to the mega city.

Richard Sapon-White is currently the principal cataloger at Oregon State University Libraries and Press (OSULP). In his more than twenty-five years at OSULP, he has served as monographs cataloger, head of the Monographs Cataloging Unit, and head of Cataloging and Metadata Services. An active member of the International Relations Round Tables of both the American Library Association (ALA) and the Oregon Library Association (OLA), he has been the coordinator for the OLA Horner Exchange with Fujian Province, China since 2008. In 2016, he participated in the exchange, spending three weeks visiting libraries throughout the province.

Richard has served on numerous committees of the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, and the ALA International Relations Committee. In 2019-2020, he served as chair of the ALA International Relations Round Table. He holds an M.L.S. degree from Southern Connecticut State University and is a member of Beta Phi Mu, the library science honor society.

Richard has an avid interest in subject analysis in bibliographic records. In recent years, he has focused on creating and correcting subject headings for indigenous peoples of Oregon as well as sustainable crops. He currently serves as co-chair of the Genre/Form Working Group of the Subject Analysis and Access Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). He also serves on the North American Regional Council of IFLA, advocating for promoting digital inclusion in their communities.