Beth Bartlett, Professor, has been part of Women's Studies at UMD since its beginnings. She taught Political Science at UMD for 19 years and has been an adjunct faculty member of Women's Studies since 1980. She joined the Women's Studies Department in 1999, serving as the Department Head since that time. She holds a BA in Philosophy from the College of Wooster, an MA in Political Science from Kent State University, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Minnesota. Her areas of interest include feminist theory, feminist spirituality, and peace and justice, and she teaches and researches in these areas. Her publications include Sarah Grimke's Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and Other Essays (Yale, 1988); Liberty, Equality, Sorority: The Origins and Interpretation of American Feminist Thought: Frances Wright, Sarah Grimke, and Margaret Fuller (Carlson, 1994); Journey of the Heart: Spiritual Insights on the Road to a Transplant (Pfeifer-Hamilton, 1997); and Rebellious Feminism: Camus's Ethic of Rebellion and Feminist Thought (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). She has been nominated to Who's Who Among America's Teachers several times, and is the recipient of the College of Liberal Arts 2003-4 Teaching Award and the College of Liberal Arts 2003-4 Research Award. She shares her home with her husband and son as well as two dogs and cats. She is involved in the peace and justice movement, enjoys writing, walking in the woods, and kayaking, and loves making music with her long-time women's music group, Wild By Nature.

Laura Stolle Schmidt has an interest in Women's Studies that is tied to her academic background as an interdisciplinary student at St. Olaf College in Women's Studies and Sociology. She is also drawn to the department because of her experiences as an activist in the battered women's movement and her past work on poverty and housing issues, environmental issues and anti-homophobia education. Back in the 90's in Duluth, she was the coordinator for Aurora, A Northland Lesbian Center and worked for the Building for Women and the Battered Women's Justice Project. She moved away to the Twin Cities for a while but couldn't stay away from the Duluth area. She came to UMD Women's Studies from the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department in the UMTC medical school. She lives in Northern Wisconsin on a 40 acre land cooperative with her partner, two huge dogs, some chickens and a strong handful of people who are still hopeful they can change the world by being good stewards of the part of it they inhabit.

Cindy M. Christian, Assistant Professor, holds a PhD in Political Science from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Her areas of interest include international relations, international political economy, Latin American politics, and women and politics. She has taught both political science and women's studies courses over the past 15 years. She has traveled to Honduras and Mexico to study development programs and the impact of global economic policies. She is currently the Program Associate for UMD's Royal D. Alworth, Jr. Institute for International Studies. She enjoys reading fiction and spending time with her family which includes her partner, originally from Iran and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin Superior; her daughter, Isabel (named after Isabel Allende); and her West-Highland Terrier, Miss Jean Brodie.

Deborah Plechner, Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies, is a feminist sociologist and criminologist. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Riverside in 2002 and specialized in the study of crime/law and social inequality, including gender, race and class. Deborah taught for the Department of Sociology-Anthropology for several years before joining the Women’s Studies Department in 2007, and she has taught a wide variety of courses dealing with crime, corrections, juvenile justice, law, social inequality, and women’s studies. Her research interests include social inequality, deviance and social control, juvenile delinquency and justice, restorative justice, the lives and experiences of women as victims and offenders of crime, medicine and alternative healthcare practices, and food. Deborah has held a variety of jobs, including being an enlisted member of the US Air Force for 4 years, professional cook, factory worker and teen counselor. In her spare time she loves to swim, hike and cook, and volunteers with Men as Peacemakers and Mentor Duluth.