AAHHE Faculty Fellows Biographies

2025 Fellows

Angélica Amezcua, PhD
Assistant Professor, Spanish
Director of the Spanish Heritage Language Program
University of Washington

Angélica Amezcua, Ph.D. is anAssistant Professor, Spanish and the Director of the Spanish Heritage Language Program at the University of Washington. Amezcua holds a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and another B.A. in Spanish from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She earned her Master’s in Chicana/o Studies also from CSUN and a Ph.D. in Spanish with a focus on Spanish Heritage Language Education and Research from Arizona State University. Her research examines how university Spanish heritage language courses can play an important role in promoting the use of Spanish in the United States, counteracting the devaluation of minority languages, and contributing to narrowing the Latinx student achievement gap.

Nora Cisneros, PhD
Assistant Professor
Ethnic Studies
CSU Bakersfield

Dra. Nora Cisneros is an Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at CSU Bakersfield. Born in Durango, Mexico, and raised in Inglewood, CA, Cisneros is a proud immigrant and former first-generation college student. She earned her B.A. in Psychology, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Sciences & Education, with a specialization in Race & Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her scholarship draws from Chicana feminist studies to unsettle educational (in)equity and uplift Latinx educational pathways. Cisneros is committed to the teaching of intergenerational writers and change-makers in culturally and linguistically diverse spaces. Her scholarship has been featured in peer-reviewed journals, such as The Journal of Educational Foundations and Feminist Formations, among others. She is the co-editor of the handbook Like a Path in Tall Grasses: Race and Refusal in Higher Education (2024). As a fierce mother-scholar, writing, watching anime, and jogging are how she rages against the machine.

Nicolaus Espitia, MSW, PhD
Assistant Professor
Social Work
Oakland University

Nicolaus Espitia, MSW, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of social work at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research interests intersect political participation, race, ethnicity, immigration, social policy, community organizing, and community-based participatory research methods. More specifically his research has focused on how undocumented Latinx populations define and engage in political participation and how institutions of higher education can be more inclusive of undocumented populations. The goal of his research is to gain a better understanding of how undocumented Latinx populations make sense of the current political context and engage with the social institutions in their communities. Dr. Espitia is dedicated to community-based research and a committed to helping communities engage with policy to create more inclusive public spaces.

Dr. Espitia earned his Ph.D. in the joint social work and sociology program at the University of Michigan. Before completing his Ph.D., he also completed his MA, MSW, and BA at the University of Michigan. His dissertation focused on the political participation of undocumented Latinx Immigrants in the Midwest. He has practice experience as a policy consultant, policy advocate, community organizer, and program evaluator.

Jovana Gomez, EdD
Assistant Professor
Spanish
Eastern New Mexico University 

Biography to be provided at a later time.

Ángel de Jesus González, PhD
Assistant Professor
Higher Education Administration and Leadership
California State University, Fresno

Dr. Ángel de Jesus González (he/they/elle) is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and Leadership at California State University, Fresno. As a first-generation, Latinx, queer, joto scholar son to immigrant parents, their work is informed by post-structuralist paradigms rooted in Xicana/Latina feminists epistemologies. Dr. Gonzalez’s scholarship interrogates power relations within higher education systems embedded with cisheteropatriarchy and compulsory genderism by examining how these racialized structures engage minoritized peoples broadly and Queer and/or Trans People of Color (QTPOC) specifically across varying roles within organizational contexts to unearth how structural inequities are maintained and reproduced via policy formulations and implementation. As a critical researcher, Dr. González grounds their work in theoretical framings such as intersectionality and jotería studies and employs methodological pursuits including queer pláticas, testimonio, queer chisme, and critical policy analysis to name a few. Dr. González has extensive research experience having served as Postdoctoral Scholar in the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California (USC) Rossier School of Education and a Graduate Research Fellow for the American Council on Education. Their foundational research has been published in many leading academic journals such as Innovative Higher Education (IHE) and the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (IJQSE). They earned a B.A. from Whittier College in Environmental Science and Spanish, an M.A. in Post-Secondary Educational Leadership and Student Affairs, and Ed.D. in Community College Leadership from San Diego State University (SDSU).

Susana Hernández, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Program Coordinator, Counseling Student Affairs M.Ed. Program
Northern Arizona University

Susana Hernández, Ph.D. (she/her/ella) is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and program coordinator for the Counseling Student Affairs M.Ed. program at Northern Arizona University. Susana’s student and professional experiences within higher education as a first-generation Latina shapes and informs her teaching and research. Her research interests are centered on using critical and non-deficit frameworks to study how higher education state and institutional policies may create hostile campus environments for racially and ethnically minoritized students and faculty. More recently, her research has examined developmental education reform, technology at HSIs, and campus carry policies. Susana has a Ph.D. in Educational Administration with an emphasis in Higher Education Administration from Texas A&M University. She also has her B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Wyoming and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Iowa State University.

Rocío Mendoza, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Leadership and Higher Education
University of Redlands

Dr. Rocío Mendoza (she/her/ella) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Leadership and Higher Education at the University of Redlands. She researches Latinx student experiences in higher education and the structures and contexts shaping their outcomes; students of color in STEM; Latinx student experiences in undergraduate research and faculty research mentors of color. These interests are deeply personal as she began studying collegiate experiences 20 years ago as a McNair Scholar at California State University, Fullerton where she earned a B.A. in Sociology and Human Services. Dr. Mendoza also holds an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University. She has over 15 years of experience working in academic support/training programs, including TRiO Programs, Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP) and undergraduate research programs that support first-generation, low-income students of color. Her approaches to teaching, research and service are shaped by her experiences growing up in the city of La Puente, California, as the eldest daughter of immigrants from Mexico, as a first-generation queer Chicana scholar, and most recently, as a mamá. Dr. Mendoza is also a former AAHHE Student Graduate Fellow.

Natalie Muñoz, PhD
Assistant Professor, Social Work
College of Arts and Sciences
Rutgers University Newark

Dr. Natalie Muñoz is a dynamic AfroLatina Assistant Professor within the College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University Newark's Social Work Department. With a dedication to fostering inclusivity and promoting social justice, Dr. Muñoz has emerged as a pivotal figure in advancing the retention and success of underserved students in higher education.

Her academic journey is marked by a commitment to empowering Black and Latinx communities. A proud double alumna of Stony Brook University, Dr. Muñoz earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and her Master's in Social Work. She furthered her academic pursuits by obtaining her Ph.D. from Howard University, where her passion for equity and advocacy flourished.

Dr. Muñoz's research interests center around AfroLatine identity development, mental health equity, and educational justice. Notably, her dissertation, "Soy de Aqui y de Alla: Exploring how HBCUs contribute to ethnic/racial identity and mental health of AfroLatino (a,e,x) college students," earned her recognition as a second-place finalist for Outstanding Dissertation of the Year by the AAHHE.

Marco A. Murillo, PhD
Assistant Professor, Education
School of Education and Counseling Psychology
Santa Clara University

Marco A. Murillo, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Education in the School of Education and Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University. Dr. Murillo’s research focuses on the college preparation, persistence, and completion of racially minoritized students, with an emphasis on Latinx and immigrant-origin students. His work is grounded in three research areas: (1) college preparation, choice, and outcomes, (2) community college pathways, and (3) immigration policy and educational opportunities. Dr. Murillo’s overall research goal is to inform both theoretical and empirical understandings of traditionally underserved students in the educational system. 

Dr. Murillo is a first-generation college graduate and the child of Mexican immigrants who grew up in the San Diego/Tijuana Borderlands. Prior to joining Santa Clara University, he served as Postdoctoral scholar at UC Los Angeles and UC Berkeley. He earned his BA in Political science and History from the University of California, San Diego and a PhD in Education (Urban schooling) from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jose Ortiz, PhD
Assistant Professor
Foundations and Social Advocacy
State University of New York at Cortland

Dr. Jose Ortiz is an Assistant Professor in the Foundations and Social Advocacy department at the State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland). Dr. Ortiz earned his PhD in Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder where he examined how Latine students used a form of narrative known as testimonio to reflect on their lived experiences. In his dissertation, Dr. Ortiz revealed how an examination of lived experiences can lead one to explore and understand how their emotions are shaped by social and political forces present in U.S. society. His research findings have important implications on ways educators can diversify Social and Emotional Learning strategies to better serve Latine students. In his time at SUNY Cortland, Dr. Ortiz has developed a research agenda focusing on developing culturally relevant social and emotional learning models; designing and implementing DEI initiatives; and preparing the next generation of K-12 teachers to be agents of change within their school community. Dr. Ortiz is committed to educational equity, social justice, and improving the experiences of Latine students.

Mayra Puente, PhD
Assistant Professor, Higher Education
Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
University of California, Santa Barbara

Mayra Puente, PhD(ella/she) is a 2024-2025 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and an Assistant Professor of higher education in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She earned her Ph.D. in education at UC San Diego and her B.A. in political science with a concentration in race, ethnicity, and politics at UCLA. She also double minored in education studies and Chicana/o studies as an undergrad. Dr. Puente’s various degrees and concentrations have shaped her transdisciplinary approach to higher education research. She is particularly concerned with college access, choice, transition, retention, and success issues for rural Latinx students and other institutionally marginalized student groups and communities. Dr. Puente draws on frameworks like Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Spatial Analysis, and Chicana Feminisms to address these pressing educational issues and enact social, racial, and spatial justice. Dr. Puente’s passion for higher education access and equity is driven by the educational barriers she faced as a first-generation college student from a Mexican migrant farm working family and her professional experiences as a higher education advocate in California’s San Joaquin Valley for rural Latinx students and communities.

Amanda Rodríguez-Newhall, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor
Social Work and Sociology
California Polytechnic State University, Pomona

Dr. Amanda Rodríguez-Newhall is an Assistant Professor of Social Work and Sociology at California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. She is a community researcher who prioritizes partnering with communities to identify and address problems deemed salient by community members themselves. She utilizes community based and participatory research methods to support community empowered action and solution. She has extensive experience working with youth, and focused her dissertation on the youth civic engagement and social justice action that stemmed from the University of Michigan’s Summer Youth Dialogues Program on Race & Ethnicity in Metropolitan Detroit. Currently, she is a Faculty Fellow with Cal Poly’s Center for Community Engagement where she is developing a service-learning course that will support Cal Poly students as they research and address issues of environmental injustice in their communities. Dr. Rodríguez-Newhall holds a BA in Psychology and Sociology from Amherst College, and an MSW and a PhD in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Carolyn S. F. Silva, PhD
Assistant Professor
Elementary Education
University of Nevada, Reno

Carolyn S. F. Silva is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, an M.A. in Political History from the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, and a B.A. in History from the Universidade do Grande Rio. Her scholarship speaks to the foundations of race, ethnicity, and diversity across transnational educational contexts.

Dr. Silva’s research employs qualitative and archival methods to map the historical and contemporary presence of Afro-Latine/x immigrants in the U.S. Specifically, she investigates the historical and lived experiences of Latinx and Afro-Latinx students in both K-12 and higher education. Her work aims to unpack how monolithic racial discourses, such as dominant notions of Latinidad, influence non-Brown Latino identification. Ultimately, her research seeks to understand how non-dominant Latine/x students negotiate their multidimensional identities and navigate racialization in educational spaces, while envisioning a curriculum that reflects Afro-Latine/x historical and contemporary experiences. Her research has been published in leading academic journals such as Educational Researcher, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies Journal, and Race, Ethnicity, and Education.

Julie P. Vanegas, PhD
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Dr. Julie P. Vanegas is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and an “Emerging researcher in Nanoscience” within the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Her academic profile and research endeavors are showcased on her dedicated website, https://www.nanoworldvanegaslab.tech/. Currently, she is Chair-Elect 2024-2025 for the American Chemical Society (ACS) South Texas Section, underscoring her leadership and influence in the chemical sciences community. Dr. Vanegas spearheads a dynamic research group comprising 15 students, two participating in UTRGV's innovative Ph.D. program in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and three master's students enrolled in the Vaquero Pathway program. Additionally, her team includes undergraduate students engaged in the NSF-PREM program in collaboration with the School of Engineering, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of her research. As a Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Vanegas is involved in the Coastal Restoration NFS Convergence Accelerator Track E, making her one of the 21 researchers contributing to this significant initiative at UTRGV. Her accolades include the prestigious Rising Stars Award from the UT System, alongside securing several seed grants from UTRGV and the Department of Energy to enhance her laboratory's capabilities. Dr. Vanegas is deeply passionate about sustainability and recycling, leading projects focused on recycling glass, non-functional solar panels, and obsolete technology for metal extraction. These projects are a testament to her commitment to environmental conservation and pave the way for advancements in energy regeneration.

Christian Vazquez, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor
School of Social Work
The University of Texas at Arlington

Christian Vazquez is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at The University of Texas at Arlington, a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. His research focuses on social determinants and behavioral changes associated with health equity among Latinos, as it relates to obesity, diabetes, and eHealth.

Vazquez has worked as a social work practitioner in Child and Adult Protective Services. This direct practice experience inspired him to focus on the role cultural and economic diversities play in accelerating long-term health disparities among individuals in high-risk environments.

Vazquez works with community organizations to address prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes, as well as work to increase eHealth utilization through increasing eHealth literacy. Vazquez is funded by a NIH/NIA K01 Career Development Award to develop and implement an eHealth literacy intervention for older adult Spanish-speakers. He also has two federal-flow through pilot grants from a NIA-funded center at the University of Michigan (NIMLAS) and a NIDDK-funded center at Pennington Biomedical Research Center (LAUNCHED).

Vazquez earned his PhD in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin, a MSW from the University of Michigan, and a BA in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. 

Karina Vielma, PhD
Assistant Professor, Engineering Education
The University of Texas at San Antonio

Dr. Karina I. Vielma was the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. She began her higher education career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she was many times the only Latina in her courses. Because of her experiences as an undergraduate student at MIT, she decided to dedicate her career to helping answer tough questions about equity and inclusion for women and marginalized students in engineering, science, and mathematics. For these reasons, she pursued a masters degree at Harvard University and a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Throughout her career, she worked in higher education administrative roles and as a public-school educator. Now, as an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education, she designs workshops and courses that help STEM faculty and graduate students gain confidence in teaching best practices that center on student learning and develop positive student identities and self-efficacy. Her research seeks to find ways to positively learn from the intersectional experiences of low-income and first-generation college students in engineering and use quantitative data in critical ways to inform the unintended impacts of socially constructed and structural barriers for marginalized students.

Melanie Zollner, EdD
Assistant Professor
Management
New Mexico Highlands University

Melanie Zollner is an Assistant Professor of Management at New Mexico Highlands University [NMHU] a Hispanic Serving Institution in rural New Mexico. Dr. Zollner was born and raised in Lima, Perú. She spent a few childhood years in Venezuela. Later as a young adult she lived in Bolivia, before attending college full time in New Mexico. These experiences have taught Dr. Zollner to be open to cultural diversity and a world view of education and learning.

Dr. Zollner obtained her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from the University of New Mexico in 2019. Dr. Zollner’s interests are in understanding and serving the needs of minority, first-generation, and adult learners. Her research emphasis is higher education, international students and the history of Hispanic and Latina women's education in rural areas in the United States and Perú.

Dr. Zollner serves her institution and the state of New Mexico, as SHRM NM State Board member and faculty advisor for NMHU SHRM Chapter. Dr. Zollner has served as NMHU’s Department of Business Administration Ethics Champion. Through her advisement her students have been recognized by the Society for Human Resources Management [SHRM] and won awards in Business Ethics Competitions.

2024 Fellows

Sofia Bahena, EdD
Assistant Professor
Education Leadership and Policy Studies
University of Texas at San Antonio 

Sofía Bahena, Ed.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Her overarching research agenda is to address structural educational inequities by strengthening the connection between education research and policy. Specifically, she aims to promote greater access to, and success in, higher education of under-represented youth in the United States. Dr. Bahena has experience working at advocacy organizations focusing on federal and state level policies; collaborating with English/Spanish bilingual communities, parents, and families; and conducting both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Most recently, she completed a visiting fellowship at the Center for Educational Efficacy, Excellence, and Equity (E4 Center), a research-practice-provider partnership housed at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy. She is also a past recipient of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE)’s graduate student fellowship and outstanding dissertation award. Dr. Bahena holds a B.A. in business administration and sociology from Trinity University (San Antonio, TX) and an Ed.M. in human development and psychology and Ed.D. in cultures, communities, and education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Jorge Burmicky, PhD
Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Howard University

Jorge Burmicky, Ph.D. (he/him/él) is an assistant professor of higher education leadership and policy studies at Howard University. One of his research lines examines presidential leadership in higher education, with an emphasis on equity-minded and socially just leadership at minority-serving institutions, community colleges, and broadly accessible institutions. His research also explores promising practices that support the educational outcomes of men of color, specifically the impact of men of color programs in student success and Latino men in community colleges.

Dr. Burmicky received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to becoming a professor, Dr. Burmicky worked as a student affairs professional for 12 years. His research can be found in the Journal of College Student Development, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Community College Review, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Journal of Negro Education, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, and others.

Dr. Burmicky is a faculty affiliate with NC State’s Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, UT Austin’s Project MALES, the Center for HBCU Research, Leadership and Policy, and the University of Michigan's National Center for Institutional Diversity. His research has been featured in USA Today, Higher Ed Dive, Hispanic Outlook on Education Magazine, and the NPR Education Symposium.

Lazaro Camacho, PhD
Assistant Professor
College Student Personnel
Feinstein College of Education
University of Rhode Island 

Dr. Lazaro Camacho, Jr. (he, him, él) is an Assistant Professor in the College Student Personnel program, Feinstein College of Education, at the University of Rhode Island. He believes that positive student success is driven by an intersectional and systemic approach to student-centered teaching, research, and service. Dr. Camacho’s scholarship centers the intersection of identity development and educational pathways through a focus on men and masculinities, men of color, intersectional socialization, leadership development, and mentorship.

Dr. Camacho earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University, and both his M.S. in College Student Personnel and B.S in Kinesiology from the University of Rhode Island. Before transitioning to the role of faculty, he spent 13 years working in student affairs, in areas such as housing and residence life, wellness, student development, and academic advising.

Dr. Camacho is a faculty affiliate with the University of Texas at Austin’s Project MALES. He serves as a member of the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice (JSARP) Editorial Board, and he is the NASPA Region I Faculty Liaison. 

Juvenal Caporale, PhD
Assistant Professor
Ethnic Studies
California State University, Stanislaus 

Dr. Juvenal Caporale is an Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies (Chicano/a/x-Latino/a/x Studies) at California State University, Stanislaus. He completed his Ph.D. in Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona, an MA in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and another MA in Political Science at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Caporale's research interests include healing, re-indigenization, and re-humanization, and his work centers on Chicanx, Latinx, and Indigenous men who participate in restorative justice and transformative justice practices. Dr. Caporale is a Ford, Fulbright, and Bilinski Fellow, and he has authored essays and chapters in Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Urban Education, Routledge, Springer, Sage Publishing, and the University of Arizona Press.

Jose Del Real Viramontes, PhD
Assistant Professor
Higher Education Administration and Policy
School of Education
University of California, Riverside 

José Del Real Viramontes is an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education Administration and Policy Program in the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. He holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Cultural Studies in Education, from the University of Texas at Austin.

As a former community college transfer student, his research explores three areas of the Latina/o/x transfer experience. First, his work examines the transfer policies, practices, and programming four-year colleges and universities apply to limit or eliminate institutional and structural barriers Latinx students face during the transfer process. Second, his work highlights how Latina/o/x community college students develop their agency and use aspects of their cultural and social capitals to navigate and negotiate the ideological, material, and structural conditions within the community college to the four-year college or university transfer process. Third, his work explores the campus culture for Latina/o/x community college transfer students once they transfer to a four-year college or university by looking at the relationship between race and space and the intersectional identities with which Latina/o/x community college transfer students identify.

Leandra Hernandez, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
University of Utah 

Dr. Leandra H. Hernández (she/her/ella) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. She uses critical, qualitative, and Chicana feminist approaches to study topics at the intersections of journalism ethics, health communication, and gender and ethnic studies, such as gender violence, reproductive injustice, and feminist activism. She has published one monograph and five co-edited books on these topics, and her current book project explores the impacts of transnational feminist news framing and activism, particularly with an eye to the ways in which news discourses frame gender violence and feminicide in the US and Latin America. This year, she is the recipient of the UWHEN Emerging Professional Award, the NCA Activism & Social Justice Community Engagement Award, the NCA LGBTQ+ Caucus Lambda Award, and the OSCLG Feminist-Teacher Mentor Award. Her recent article entitled “Construyendo conexiones para los niños: Environmental justice, reproductive feminicidio, and coalitional possibility in the borderlands,” published in the journal Health Communication, is the recipient of the 2023 OSCLG Anita Taylor Outstanding Journal Article Award. She is the current chair of the NCA Health Communication Division and the co-founder of the NCA La Raza Caucus Mentorship Initiative.

Pablo Montes, PhD
Assistant Professor
Curriculum Studies
Texas Christian University 

Dr. Pablo Montes (any pronouns) is a descendant of the Chichimeca Guamares and P’urépecha people from the valley of Huatzindeo (Salvatierra, Guanajuato, MX), specifically from a small rancho called La Luz at the foot of the Culiacán mountain. They are an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies at Texas Christian University and received their Ph.D. in Cultural Studies in Education from the University of Texas at Austin (with an emphasis on Native American and Indigenous Studies and Mexican American and Latine Studies). Their main research interests are at the intersection of queer settler colonialism, Latinx Indigeneities, and Land education. Their current project emphasizes the transformational learning spaces that Two-Spirit, Queer, and Trans Indigenous educators create alongside their Indigenous community, Land, and other Queer Indigenous people. Dr. Montes is also a community-based scholar, serving as the Native Youth Director for the Indigenous Cultures Institute based in San Marcos, TX from 2017-2021. In this role, they developed Indigenous-based curriculum for a summer encounter dedicated to serving Indigenous and Latinx youth in the San Marcos area. They are also an active Danzante (Mexica Dancer) with Danza Ollinyollotl and Kalpulli Mitotiliztli Yaoyollohtli.

Guillermo Ortega, PhD
Assistant Professor
Higher Education
Idaho State University 

Guillermo Ortega is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at Idaho State University. His research uses critical qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how colleges/universities and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are reproducing systemic and racial inequalities that influence academic and athletic opportunities for Latina/o/e/x students. His current research projects have also aimed at understanding how racialized structures operate at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and post-doctoral fellowship positions.

Dr. Ortega serves as a policy fellow at the Center for Athletes’ Rights and Equity (CARE), where he addresses structural inequalities in sport and to create better, more equitable experiences and outcomes for amateur, collegiate, and professional athletes. Additionally, he serves as a faculty affiliate for Project MALES and The Center for Higher Education Linguistics and Translation (CHELT) where he focuses on policy and practice for improving Latina/o/e/x retention and graduation rates.

Guillermo is a first-generation college graduate and proud son of Mexican immigrants. He earned his PhD in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Houston and holds an MEd in Higher Education and BAs in History/Sociology from the University of California, Riverside.

Brianna Posadas, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech

Dr. Brianna B. Posadas is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, specializing in the intersection of agriculture, technology, and user-centered design. She collaborates on projects such as aiding disabled growers through AgrAbility Virginia and researching precision agricultural technology adoption with the Department of Sociology in an NSF Future of Work project. Prior to her current role, she was a Computing Research Association (CRA) Computing Innovation Fellow in the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education at VT. She earned her PhD from the University of Florida, becoming the first Latina to do so in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering. Dr. Posadas is also a leader in the Hispanics in Computing group and has advised undergraduates in the Data Science for Public Good summer research program at Virginia Tech. Dr. Posadas is originally from Murrieta, California and holds a Master of Science in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from UF and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College.

Alyssa Provencio, PhD
Assistant Professor
Political Science/Public Administration
University of Central Oklahoma

Dr. Alyssa L. Provencio is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science’s Master of Public Administration program at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). Her academic interests center gender, race/ethnicity, and place-based vulnerability in emergency and disaster management. Her scholarship and service has also focused on mentorship and inclusive pedagogy. Her goal is to ensure that the benefits of knowledge are accessible to all and empower individuals and communities to actively participate in their own resilience. Dr. Provencio attributes the passion for her discipline to the time she spent in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

At UCO, she serves as the Academic Affairs Equity Advocate, directs the leadership minor for the College of Liberal Arts, coordinates the Disaster Management Certificate in the MPA program, and has led the Faculty Senate as President since May 2022. She is an unwavering advocate for Latino students, staff, and faculty, having contributed to UCO’s Hispanic Success Initiative, Primeros Pasos program, and Dreamer Fund Gala. She is also the co-creator of the Dreamer Ally Training and was President of the Latino Faculty and Staff Association for two years.

Originally from Derby, Kansas, she holds degrees from Oklahoma State University (PhD), the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service (MPS), and Kansas State University (BS). Beyond academia, she’s currently training for her first triathlon, recently became a PADI divemaster, and loves to bake. She resides in rural Oklahoma with her partner, Tom, and their rescue pets, Lou and Biggs.

Erica Redner-Vera, PhD
Assistant Professor
Criminal Justice
School of Public Affairs
San Diego State University 

Erica Redner-Vera is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University. Prior to joining SDSU, Dr. Redner-Vera was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Montana, and a Faculty Associate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. Dr. Redner-Vera’s research interests include race, ethnicity, crime, and justice, especially issues concerning American Indians. She is a 2021 Fellow of the RDCJN, and a 2015 Graduate Research Fellow of BJS, where her dissertation examined the treatment of American Indian defendants in United States Federal Courts. Her research investigates how American Indian defendants are treated across multiple decision points, the cumulative disadvantage they endure, increased disparities over time, and whether social context affects how they are treated. She also explores discrimination, historical trauma, delinquency, and resiliency among American Indian youth in Southern California. Dr. Redner-Vera received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from ASU in 2011 and 2019, respectively, and her B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2008. Her research has been published in Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, and Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice.

Joan Roque Peña, PhD
Assistant Professor
Chemistry
Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey 

Joan E. Roque Peña, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. She earned her BS and PhD in chemistry and an MEd in adult education, leading her to develop an interdisciplinary research laboratory. In her research, she integrates inorganic chemistry and education to develop curricular materials that are student-centered. Because she is interested in making education more accessible to Hispanics and lowering attrition rates, she is exploring student engagement and language practices in the classroom. She is dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) so that she can create engaging classroom environments where students feel like they belong. Due to her efforts, she received the Unsung Hero Award in 2021 at Westminster College and the POGIL Peach Award in 2023. In 2023, she was a recipient of the NSF LEAPS Award which will fund her efforts to expand her inorganic and chemistry education research laboratory where her Hispanic undergraduate students can have a place to participate in research and enhance their laboratory skills. Other research areas include organometallic chemistry and catalysis.

Natalia Villanueva-Nieves, PhD
Assistant Professor
Chicano and Latino Studies
Sonoma State University 

Dr. Natalia Villanueva-Nieves is an Assistant Professor of Chicano and Latino Studies at Sonoma State University. Her area of study is Latinx literature and expressive cultures, specializing in Latina storytelling, Latina emotional geographies, transnational feminisms, and relational race studies.

Her research explores how storytelling outlines complex understandings of space as an intersection of affect, domestic spaces, migratory routes, imaginary nations, and the geopolitical relationships between the U.S. and Latin America. Dr. Villanueva-Nieves is currently working on her first academic book, tentatively titled The True Colors of Feeling Brown: Reading Affect and Hegemony in Latina Narratives,which examines Latina narratives from the 1990s and 2000s as cartographies that map emotional landscapes as they are differently experienced by Mestiza, white, and Black Latinas in different historical periods.

Dr. Villanueva-Nieves holds a Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.A. in Literary Studies from Utrecht University, and a B.A. in Literature from the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana. Her scholarship has been published in journals and edited volumes in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. She was a recipient of the UC Mexus-Conacyt fellowship, the UCSB Chicano Institute Dissertation Award, and the Huygens Scholarship Program.

Cynthia Villarreal, PhD
Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership
Northern Arizona University

Cynthia D. Villarreal is an Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University in Educational Leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. She is a fronteriza from El Paso, Texas studying the borderlands of higher education, Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), organizational culture, equity in decision-making, and Chicana feminisms in higher education. As a qualitative researcher and creative non-fiction writer, Dr. Villarreal believes in the importance of sharing countertestimonios to critique and transform higher education. She uses interdisciplinary theories and research to inform her approach to the study of HSIs and how they serve their Latine students by interrogating the policies, structures, and culture within colleges and universities. She is also a Racial Equity Coach for the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center providing support to community colleges navigating racial equity change projects on campus. She is a mamischolar living in the Sonoran Desert (Phoenix, Arizona) with her two children and husband. She was a 2020 AAHHE Graduate Student Fellow. 

Ruben Zecena, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of English
University of California, Davis 

Ruben Zecena is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in contemporary Latinx Literature and Culture, which he engages through the lens of Queer of Color Critique, Border Studies, Affect Theory, and Transnational American Studies. He received his PhD in Gender & Women's Studies, with a minor in Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory, from the University of Arizona (2021). His work is animated by his experiences as a formerly undocumented queer migrant from El Salvador.

He is completing his first monograph, Impossible Possibilities: The Unruly Imaginaries of Queer and Trans Migrants. The book explores the cultural productions of LGBTQ migrants as a blueprint from which to question, critique, and re-imagine the contours of national belonging. It is under advance contract with University of Texas Press. His scholarship appears in WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly, Prose Studies, Díalogo, Studies in Spanish & Latin American Cinemas, among others.