MANDY VAN DEVEN is a writer, speaker, and changemaker. Her work explores contemporary feminisms, queer sexualities, global activisms, and popular culture.

Mandy has been a troublemaker since she was in diapers, but she learned to use her talents in the service of social justice while attending Georgia State University. As an undergrad, she kept herself busy by co-founding the first women’s rights group on GSU campus, managing a grassroots soup kitchen, working at a LGBTQ youth drop-in center, and organizing the first protest against the 2003 invasion of Iraq — among other scandalous and subversive activities. In 2003, she moved to New York City, where she worked in Central Brooklyn as a community organizer at Girls for Gender Equity. Three years later, she was the organization’s associate director.

After moving to Kolkata, India in 2008, Mandy began writing for a diverse array of publications. She has done investigative pieces for RH Reality Check about controversies in reproductive rights, interviewed scholars in Salon about the science of disgust and whether flogging is more humane than incarceration, examined the business of feminist pornography for Marie Claire, and offered AlterNet readers a queer critique of gay marriage.

Mandy has spoken nationwide about street harassment, Title IX, youth organizing, and transformative responses to gender-based violence. Her book, Hey, Shorty!: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets, was released in 2011. She has been featured in In These Times, amNY, BlogHer, Progressive Radio, and WBAI. Mandy lives in West Harlem, New York.

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