Jorge Garcia was born and raised in the Northeast Central part of Mexico in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Jorge Garcia lived in Chicago where he attended college and obtained an AS degree in mathematics with an emphasis in philosophy. In 1999, Jorge received a baccalaureate degree in sociology. In 2004, Jorge obtained a master degree in education with an emphasis on regional planning and on the development of human networks.  In 2013, Jorge received a second master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in strategic planning.  Jorge has worked at the University of New Mexico for 24 years.  For about 10 of these 24 years, Jorge worked at the Iberoamerican Science Technology and Education Consortium (ISTEC) where he focused on developing R&D networks to advance the study of microelectronics in Latin American and the Iberian Peninsula. He also collaborated in the effort to develop the digital library in the region. In 2011, he joined the El Centro de la Raza, one of the ethnic centers of the University of New Mexico where he has dedicated his efforts to teach co-curricular programs in the areas of social entrepreneurship, culture, and identity.  Part of his responsibilities are community collaboration, program development, operations management, strategic planning, and international relations. Jorge has presented his work in international forums, including forums organized by the Information Society of United Nations. He has participated in the design and and implementation of specific projects to do information and technology transfer to local communities by creating alliances between public and private sectors, academia, multilateral organizations and civil society. Much of his work, both at the university and community level, is being done under three distinct theoretical frameworks: complex systems, critical consciousness, and network development.  He is currently the Director and Co-founder of the Center for Social Sustainable Systems (CESOSS), a community research and learning center.  He was also the co-founder of la Plazita Institute, a community-based institute in the South Valley that is focused on creating community-based development by engaging marginalized youth.  He developed a social paradigm called the Quadruple Helix paradigm (4H) to facilitate communication and strategic alliances between industry, government, academia, and multinational entities to support the cultural, political, social, and economic development of local communities. Jorge is currently in the process of obtaining a doctoral degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of New Mexico. 

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Research Interests

Jorge has done a lot of community and human development work. He is dedicated to support community efforts that will lead to liberation and self-determination. He is currently working on a scientific research that is intending to show old Mexican codices that contain old emerging stories using dome technology to portray the codices. He has been researching old governance systems, and issues related to the relationship of Chicanx communities with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which includes issues regarding land and water and their protection through the Treaty of 1848. 

Research Topics

Community Development | Culture |  Identity |  Social Movements