Who We Are
Dr. Sabrina C. Sideris
Sabrina Carolina Sideris has been the Program Director of INVST since August 2007. Sabrina’s professional purpose is to support learners as they decide upon a course of reflective action for positive change, dedicating themselves to social justice work. She is passionate about helping people become more skillful change makers. Sabrina was in INVST as a student from 1998-2000 and she has been involved in INVST's leadership in some way, shape or form ever since. She has a Masters Degree in Peace Education from the United Nations-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica and has just received her Doctoral Degree in Higher Education at the University of Denver where she focuses her studies on the diversity and inclusion programs and practices of higher ed institutions. In her free time, Sabrina likes to play ping pong with her wife Sarah and spend time outside enjoying the beauty of Colorado with Quimby, a small but fiercely energetic terrier.
Annie Miller
Annie Miller joins the INVST Community Studies staff as an alumna of the class of 2006, 14 RPMs (Revolutions per Moment). She brings with her a wealth of knowledge in experiential education, non-profit and governmental work. Her background includes leading gap year and summer educational programs in Latin America, working and teaching on various organic farms, establishing a community garden program as part of Tri-County Health Department, and teaching high school Spanish. She loves spending time in community with friends and family and with mother earth, cultivating and gathering food and medicine.
Allie Van Buskirk, MA
Allie is an INVST alumni who has worn many hats with our organization and couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of such a dynamite instructor team. She is INVST's first year skills course (INVS 3931) instructor and brings a unique skill set to this role: a wealth of non-profit management, resource development, and group facilitation experience combined with years of personal mindfulness practice and a Masters Degree in Contemplative Education from Naropa University. She is passionate about supporting community leaders and organizers in developing a sense of self and well being that will truly enable a lifetime commitment to compassionate action. When she isn’t teaching, Allie can be found exploring Colorado’s beautiful mountains with her partner, son and two goofball dogs; making herbal medicines; experimenting with cooking new foods; leading women’s groups; or reading a good book.
Sam Bullington, Ph.D.
Dr. Sam Bullington is passionate about the transformative power of inspired teaching. An overarching goal of his pedagogy is to help students make conscious what they’ve been trained to keep unconscious, and watching students come to insights about themselves and their place in the world constitutes the most satisfying aspect of teaching for him. Sam is a social scientist with training in Anthropology, Geography, and Environmental Studies and a Ph.D. in Feminist Studies from University of Minnesota. He did his academic research in South Africa where he worked with LGBT and AIDS activists. As a transsexual, he has a unique and broad understanding of gender, as well as social categories more generally.
Sam leads workshops on unlearning racism, toxic masculinity, and decolonizing teaching, as well as engaged spirituality/spiritual activism. Sam founded and directs Phoenix, Colorado’s Transgender Community Choir and has had a lifelong interest in the role of music in social justice movements. When not teaching or leading Phoenix, Sam has a shamanic counseling practice, leads vision quests, and is currently writing a book—part memoir, part gender studies, part spiritual teaching—called Transgender Wisdom: What I’ve Learned about Gender and Life from Living in the Grey Areas. Sam teaches Facilitating Peaceful Community Change, INVS/WGST 3302. This course is taken by all first-year INVST students in the Fall.