Dr. Min Wang is an Associate Professor in Literacy Education at SUNY New Paltz. Her research interests include narrative analysis, multimodality and semiotics, second language acquisition, literacies, positioning and agency, teacher education, multilingualism, and linguistic racism. Over the past years, she has productively conducted high-quality research and published widely, including one book, 17 articles, and four book chapters. Her articles have appeared in various journals, such as TESOL Quarterly, The Journal of Educational Research, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, and Journal of Multilingual Education Research. Her book, Multimodalities and Chinese students’ L2 practices: Positioning, agency, and community, explored the complicated interactions among multimodality, positioning, and agency in increasingly digitized, multilingual, and multicultural contexts in and through which Chinese international students practiced their L2 literacies. Dr. Wang has been an AERA member since 2014. She served as a member of the Narrative SIG Outstanding Dissertation Committee in 2019 at AERA and is now proud to serve as chair.
Dr. Leia K. Cain is an Assistant Professor of Evaluation, Statistics, & Methodology in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she also serves as Coordinator for the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research Methods in Education. Her research advances qualitative methodology through two interwoven strands: developing creative and justice-driven qualitative research methods, and examining belonging among queer and multiply marginalized university students in the U.S. South and Southern Appalachia. Her methodological work challenges narrow definitions of quality in qualitative research through innovative approaches including narrative constellation methods, autoethnography, and participant-generated art methods. She has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scholarly works in outlets such as Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Additionally, she serves as a founding Development Editor for the Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education. Dr. Cain has formerly held leadership roles with the Mixed Methods Research SIG, and currently serves as Chair-Elect for the Narrative Research SIG and Awards Chair for the Arts Based Educational Research SIG.
Dr. Amy Boniface is the Education Program Director for the Bachelor's Degree in Elementary and Special Education at Paradise Valley Committee College, in Arizona. She teaches a variety of teacher preparation courses including Literacy, Science Methods, Curriculum, Assessment, and Foundations of Education. Her research interests include using the Narrative Research Methodology to explore experiences of teachers integrating technology into their curriculum and instructional strategies. Currently, Amy is working with Dr. Vicki Ross on research involving experiences of beginning teachers and teacher candidates who enter the classroom full time before they are credentialed. In the AERA Narrative Research SIG, she has served as Secretary, Chair Elect, and proposal reviewer for the Narrative Research SIG and is proud to be the current Chair. Amy strives to support the SIG in creating a strong Narrative Research Community.
Dr. Simmee Chung is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Concordia University of Edmonton in Canada. Simmee has over 20 years of teaching and teacher leadership experience in K-12 and post-secondary school contexts. As a narrative inquirer, Simmee has engaged in numerous research collaborations, presentations, and publications alongside national and international colleagues. She was a recipient of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Education Outstanding Dissertation Award for her SSHRC funded study. Simmee has also received other generous grants and teaching awards. In research and in life, Simmee continually strives to attend to the experiences of often marginalized populations including children and families of color, immigrants, and Indigenous youth and families. Dr. Chung served as the Program Chair-Elect from 2024-2025 and is now thrilled to serve as the Program Chair-Elect (2025-2026) to support educators and scholars with diverse narrative research and that are at all stages of their personal and professional journeys.
Leslie M Gauna, Ed. D. is an Associate Professor of Bilingual/ESL Education and Cultural Studies in the department of Counseling, Special Education, and Community at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She conducts qualitative research specializing in Narrative Inquiry and Self-study of teacher education. She focuses on preparation and retention of ESL/bilingual teacher candidates and novice teachers. She is first author in The leaking Spanish bilingual education teacher pipeline: Stories of pk-20 challenges told by Latinx becoming bilingual teachers in the U.S. (2023) Journal of Latinos in Education and “Discussing controversial topics while keeping the class civil:” Critical pedagogy and dialogue for those who dare (2024) in Studying Teacher Education. Leslie M Gauna obtained the 2024 Early Career Award granted by the Narrative Inquiry Research Special Interest Group for the American Education Research Association. She worked in education with migrant populations, violence prevention, gender equality, community literacy and theater both in the United States, Argentina, and Chile.
In the past decade, he has spent his time studying science teaching and grief as both an academic and practitioner. His own grief story as a young person led him to seek understanding of his experience, which he initially found in his love for the outdoors. The natural world taught him to be present, observant and curious. Each of these traits then not only helped him to better understand his own lived experiences but became tools that provided him the foundation and drive he needed to be a good teacher, non-profit leader, and scientist. In his professional life he has worked with people young and old, working to find the place where teaching, leadership, and science meet the most vulnerable human experiences people live. In his efforts to translate theory into practice in various professional settings he has found a real passion for restorative practices, the narrative methodology, and teaching from an inquiry perspective.
Narrative Research
Awards Committee