East Tennessee State University’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program has named Drs. Fereshteh Gerayli and Amber Kinser as the 2023 recipients of the Notable Women of ETSU Award.  

The two award recipients will be honored at the annual Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium on Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 5-7 p.m. in the Reece Museum at ETSU. The event highlights the expertise and accomplishments of women at ETSU; provides a forum for the exchange of ideas, research and projects generated by faculty; and identifies faculty whose work advances understanding of women and their lives. 

The public is invited to this free event, and current and former students of the honorees are especially welcome. Light dinner and refreshments will be provided. 

 Gerayli is a teaching and practicing physician in the ETSU Quillen College of Medicine. She came to ETSU after studying medicine in Iran, where she witnessed firsthand the violent uprising of the Islamic Revolution that dramatically altered the culture of Iran and the future of females in it.  

After years of studying to be a doctor,  Gerayli knew that she had to leave Iran before she was punished or exiled and came to the United States. The rural health considerations of practicing medicine in the United States brought Gerayli to Appalachia, where she began her practice in rural Kentucky.  

She later made Johnson City her home, joining the busy clinic and residency programs of ETSU Health Family Medicine. For almost 20 years she has educated medical students and newly minted medical residents on caring for the underserved and the LGBTQ+ community and on women’s health.  

Along with her teaching and practice as a physician, Gerayli’s numerous grants and publications focus on everything from cancer to cardiorenal adverse effects. She currently serves as chair of the Department of Family Medicine. 

Kinser served as the director of Women’s Studies at ETSU for 10 years, establishing a major and minor in the field and developing coursework. She launched the Notable Women series in 2002 to recognize, celebrate and build community around women’s contributions at ETSU and grew Women’s Studies as a presence on campus with cross-disciplinary support and collaboration.  

Kinser planned “Take Back the Night” events, helped lead the LGBTQ+ student group and directed an ETSU performance of “The Vagina Monologues.” In the Department of Communication and Performance, as both faculty member and chair, Kinser remained active in addressing issues impacting women as well as other marginalized communities.  

Her research record has focused on issues of motherhood and mothering while legitimating research and experiences of women that regularly go unnoticed. She edited “Mothering in the Third Wave,” coedited “Performing Motherhood: Artistic, Activist, and Everyday Enactments” and authored “Motherhood and Feminism.”  

For more information, contact Dr. Katrina Heil, interim director of the ETSU Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, at heil@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at (423) 439-8346. 

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