Open House Alumni Panel

The Humanities Open House alumni panel will be held Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. in the Lincoln Hall Theater.

See the Open House overview.

Alumni Panel - “What I did with my humanities major”

Moderator: Natalie Lira

Latina/Latino Studies Professor 

University of Illinois alumna - Latin American and Caribbean Studies major, Latina/Latino Studies minor 

Natalie Lira is an interdisciplinary scholar who examines the politics of reproduction and histories of medicine in the United States. She earned her Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include the politics of reproduction, histories of medicine, and the ways that struggles for racial and reproductive justice intersect.

Jessica Berbey

English and Creative Writing '19

Jessica Berbey is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Creative Writing. Since graduating in 2019, she has built her career at DC Comics as an associate editor, contributing to Eisner Award–winning titles such as Batman: One Bad Day and Nightwing. She currently serves as the editor of Nightwing, Birds of Prey, and Batgirl, and as associate editor on titles like Batman, Detective Comics, and Poison Ivy. With every project, she strives to champion stories that honor DC’s legacy while pushing the medium of comics forward.

Ben Branham

English '01

A New Yorker by trade, but a proud Midwesterner by identity, Ben Branham has spent the past 25 years steeped in the dynamic and increasingly volatile worlds of public policy, local government, public relations, brand development, corporate communications and the many nuanced aspects thereof (though he still doesn’t have a TikTok account).

Ben currently leads the advisory practice of Weber Shandwick’s New York office, where he manages the agency’s teams providing counsel and expertise for public affairs, corporate reputation, social impact and sustainability, crisis/issues, and financial communications. Notable clients have included Sandy Hook Promise and their national effort to prevent gun violence; Delta Air Lines; New York City Football Club; Stanford University, the National September 11th Memorial & Museum, and many others.

During his time in the public sector at both the state and local level, Ben has had a backstage pass to some of the most consequential economic development and infrastructure projects for the region in the past three decades—including the global competition to build a new graduate school of engineering on an island in the East River; the transformation of LaGuardia Airport from an SNL punchline to a new standard for world-class; and the construction of the NYC’s largest all-affordable housing community in a generation alongside the city’s first soccer-specific (and fully privately financed) stadium.

During his tenure as Chief Communications Officer at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, he oversaw all external comms, internal comms and marketing campaigns across business lines for the $9B bi-state agency, including the airports, a commuter rail line, six bridges and tunnels, the bus terminal, the seaports, and the World Trade Center Campus. He led rapid response to numerous operational disruptions and security incidents at prominent facilities as well as its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Christina Brodbeck

History '01

Christina A. Brodbeck is a technology investor, user interface designer, and entrepreneur. Her passion is innovation at the intersection of technology and pop culture. She was a founding partner at the venture capital firm, Rivet Ventures, and was a founding team member at YouTube, where she was the company's first UI Designer. While at YouTube, she was the lead designer for YouTube Mobile and also launched YouTube EDU/Education. Before YouTube, Christina worked at MRL Ventures, NASA, and Keynote Systems. She is a seasoned investor as both an angel and VC, with investments in over 50 companies, several of which have gone on to become unicorns. She is originally from the Chicagoland area, has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in history, and holds a master's degree in Instructional Multimedia Design and Technologies from San Francisco State University. She currently lives in Los Angeles, and is enjoying working on a fun side project.

Jennifer Mendez

East Asian Languages and Cultures '14

Jennifer Mendez serves as director for the Jeffries Center First Generation Student Initiatives (FGSI) unit at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has worked in the field of higher education since 2015 having attained professional experience in academic advising, career services, alumni engagement, and event planning. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her Master of Arts degree is from the University of Michigan and she is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Identifying as a proud first-generation alumna and entering her eighth year of working on campus, Director Mendez enjoys mentoring students who are navigating the complexities of their college journey. Alongside her FGSI team members, they strive to offer a variety of supportive resources to ensure student success at Illinois and after today's conversation, Jennifer hopes that attendees feel empowered to pursue any and all of the exciting educational opportunities available to them through the University of Illinois network.