{"id":22,"date":"2026-08-26T17:39:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/?page_id=22"},"modified":"2026-08-26T20:19:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T20:19:44","slug":"guest-bios","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/guest-bios\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Bios"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1-683x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1-300x450.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1-850x1275.jpeg 850w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/Faezeh-Daemi-1.jpeg 1067w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong>Host<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Faezeh Daemi:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Faezeh Daemi (she\/her) is a queer Iranian theatre-maker who believes every stage can be a platform for revolution. Her work amplifies marginalized voices, particularly within the 2SLGBTQi+ community, confronting systemic oppression through performance and storytelling. A PhD candidate in Communications, New Media, and Cultural Studies at McMaster University, Canada, Faezeh continues blending artistry and activism to create inclusive spaces that spark dialogue and social change.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:78px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:40% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/457393e4-4f40-43c1-81d1-7a5ea3c4632e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/457393e4-4f40-43c1-81d1-7a5ea3c4632e.jpg 400w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/457393e4-4f40-43c1-81d1-7a5ea3c4632e-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/457393e4-4f40-43c1-81d1-7a5ea3c4632e-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/457393e4-4f40-43c1-81d1-7a5ea3c4632e-53x53.jpg 53w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Claudia Castillo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I came to Canada five years ago from El Salvador. I am a Spanish speaker and was an ESL student for two years at different educational institutions, including St. Charles Adult and Continuing Education, the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, and the McMaster English Language Development (MELD) Diploma program.<br>Through the MELD program, I developed the academic skills needed to study at McMaster University. I am currently pursuing my second Bachelor of Arts degree and am entering Level III of the Global Peace, Social Justice &amp; Philosophy program.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:85px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:40% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" src=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/starlienie-0134-1024x819.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/starlienie-0134-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/starlienie-0134-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/starlienie-0134-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/starlienie-0134-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/194\/2026\/08\/starlienie-0134-2048x1638.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong>Starlie Nie<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starlie is a first-year MBA student at DeGroote School of Business. Originally from China, she enjoys photography, reading, and long walks in nature. She values curiosity, lifelong learning, quiet moments, and meaningful conversations.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Host Faezeh Daemi: Faezeh Daemi (she\/her) is a queer Iranian theatre-maker who believes every stage can be a platform for revolution. Her work amplifies marginalized voices, particularly within the 2SLGBTQi+ community, confronting systemic oppression through performance and storytelling. A PhD candidate in Communications, New Media, and Cultural Studies at McMaster University, Canada, Faezeh continues blending&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":800,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-22","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Speaker Bios - The Check In Podcast<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/check-in-podcast\/guest-bios\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Speaker Bios - The Check In Podcast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Host Faezeh Daemi: Faezeh Daemi (she\/her) is a queer Iranian theatre-maker who believes every stage can be a platform for revolution. 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