He/Him

Frank Pancho Aviles, the son of Fructuoso Aviles and Maria Guadalupe Reyes (Aviles), grew up working in the fields picking grapes, oranges, lemons, olives, cucumbers, pecans, walnuts, and chopping weeds alongside his parents, five sisters and three brothers.  

Frank (of both Lipan Apache and Mexican ancestry) has served as a counselor, an educator, and an advocate while working in the fields of migrant education, health education, mental health, LGBTQ2, and libraries where he provided support to individuals from the following communities: Mexican (Americans), Native Americans, Southeast Asian immigrants, African Americans, LGBTQ2+, people with disabilities, and underserved communities in general. In addition, Frank has experience teaching race, gender and sexuality courses in the fields of Chicana and Chicano Studies and the Information Sciences.

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Courses Offered

CCS 364 and CCS 564: Raza, Genders and Sexualities

Research Interests

Frank's research interests include using qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research approaches on topics related to the Lipan Apache Tribe, Border Tribes (residing along and/or on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border), Two-Spirit identity, and research on Mexicans and Chicanos reclaiming Native American identities. Frank is also interested in genetic genealogy and genealogical research that involves locating and analyzing Native American records of the Southwest and of Mexico which may include church and civil documents, mission records, and other archived records. 

Research Topics 

Lipan Apache | Border Tribes | Two-Spirit | Mexican | Chicanx

She/Her

Risha is an incoming CCS MA student. She currently serves as a community educator and director at a non-profit farm called, Harvest for the Hungry in Freeport, TX. She began her career as  secondary science teacher at Brazosport High School for ten years. In addition, she served as an agriculture science students for five years and has been involved in various community service projects, science educational programs, and curriculum writing opportunities. She enjoys watching students grow in curiosity and providing accessible enrichment to families.

She believes it is important to participate in community projects that expand environmental, cultural heritage, and food literacy in youth. Risha appreciates the power of outreach thoughtful programs can have. She looks forward to the opportunity to further build culturally relevant experiences for her community. 

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Research Interests

Risha's research interests include growing access to healthful lifestyles through teaching best practices in sustainable agriculture, eco ethics, and nutrition that align with one's heritage. Generational platforms that allow for self-discovery and cultural appreciation will be center points in project designs. The nonprofit she serves works to eliminate food insecurity in her area; she wishes to now target needs in food sovereignty. Risha hopes to set up models that provide families with sustainable and empowering experiences.

Research Topics

Social Economic Justice | Food Literacy | Heritage Gardening | Cultural Sustainability | Food Sovereignty

Jerome Chávez was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His family has had roots in the state for many generations.  

He became a community activist at an early age. In high school he was a member of La Raza Unida Youth Committee, and participated in a solidarity march against Proposition 187 in California.

Jerome graduated from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in 2006, earning Bachelors of Arts degrees in Political Science and American Studies. He moved to Denver, Colorado afterwards.

In Denver, Jerome became involved in the Chicano/Mexicano community there, and continued doing work for social justice. He helped organize several events against war, against police brutality, and for immigrant rights and for international solidarity. He helped organize the Transform Columbus Day march in 2007 and the Recreate 68 counter-convention against the Democratic National Convention in 2008. In 2014, the 40th anniversary of the deaths of Los Seis de Boulder Chicano activists, he assisted in the Symbols of Resistance commemoration for Chicano Movement martyrs from Colorado. 

Considering himself an organic intellectual, he conducted much independent research on Chicano history and did many community presentations on this topic. In his academic work he hopes to bring up and give a thorough analysis of the history and social movements of the Chicano people that are often overlooked.

Jerome moved back to Albuquerque, where he lives with his black cat, and trains in kenpo karate.

He/Him/El

Phil Cioppa is a native of Albany, NY, who now resides with his wife Janie in West Richland, WA. Phil holds a BA in Greek and Roman Civilization/French, a MA in English, a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry. Phil has served as an ally and advocate for Spanish-speaking communities in Albany, NY, Yakima, WA, Pasco, WA, and the US Virgin Islands. Phil has also served as a bilingual teacher in WA State for the past 7 years. He came to the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies after studying at the University of Redding, UK as a graduate student in the Department of Latin American Cultural Studies.

Phil has been a presenter at the Washington Association of Bilingual Educators, the 2023 University of New Mexico Spring Teaching Conference, and at the 2023 Annual Conference of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS). Phil conducted a preliminary longitudinal study during the 2022-23 academic year as he researched the state of Chicana and Chicano Studies at various universities, delving into their histories, present situations, and then formulating preliminary recommendations for future planning. He will continue to greatly broaden this preliminary study as he progresses through the graduate program.

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Research Interests

Phil currently serves as a graduate assistant in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies, curating and developing curriculum for the ISEE College Program, a program that offers dual credit for high school students who wish to take courses in Chicana and Chicano Studies. He is excited and thankful to be a part of the Department’s community.

Research Topics

Curating | Developing | Recommending | Writing | Formulating

He/Him

Carlos Contreras is a poet, painter, father, educator, and student - Contreras was a member of the Kellogg Foundation's Inaugural class of Community Leadership Network Fellows. Having served as the Director of Marketing for the City of Albuquerque and Mayor Tim Keller, Contreras is also a nationally awarded performance poet, published author, and featured visual artist in the Albuquerque Museum's permanent collection "Common Ground" - his life's work has centered around the creation of space and time for communities of all kinds. He the co-founder of Art on the Rio - Contreras is one half of the duo of creatives  that’s delivered a virtual space - a place for art and artists to continue to thrive, and a partnership opportunity for Albuquerque’s small business community to be a part of. This was in part a project grown out of his Sole Proprietorship, Immastar Productions - a 20yr old consultancy focused on catalyzing situations with creative people, approaches, and solutions. Contreras is about connections: people to people, institutions to each other, and his city of Albuquerque, to the world. 

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Research Interests

I am interested in the place and space for the Chicano Bisexual male in a world in a culture ripe with machismo, and the division caused by continued inquiry into Chicano/a culture - I am interested in the missing stories of people like myself.

Research Topics

Methodology/Methodologies of the Oppressed | Ethnography

They/Elle

Frankie Flores (They/Elle) is a first-generation Mexicano from Santa Rosa, Chihuahua. They grew up in Albuquerque, NM in the East San Jose barrio. Frankie grew up in a community surrounded by Queer and Trans people, thus propelling their commitment to Trans justice, especially for Trans women of color. 

Frankie is currently the Director for the University of New Mexico's LGBTQ Resource Center. They oversee programmatic work, staff supervision, and assisting with policy and procedure that provides LGBTQIA people equitable access to the university. Frankie has overseen the Safe Zone program since 2011, providing the workshop for over 12,000 people. They have been conducting research on the lives and experiences of LGBTQIA people at UNM for three years.  

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Research Interests

Frankie’s research explores the experiences of LGBTQIA people living in the Southwestern region of the United States including those living on the El Paso/Juarez border. Frankie is conducting research that explores the language Trans women in 1990s Juarez, Mexico used with each other that provides agency and reframes Trans femicides.  Frankie is also researching LGBTQIA activism on the UNM campus stemming from the 1960s.

Research Topics
Juarez Border |  Trans Femicides | LGBTQIA activism | Testimonios

She/Her

Chelsea FrancoMartin is a proud daughter of a Mexican immigrant and Chicana. Chelsea’s family comes from Guadalajara, Jalisco. She was born and raised in New Jersey and currently resides in Trenton, New Jersey. Chelsea has a passion for social justice, community advocacy and organizing, and community development. She began her college education at Mercer County Community College studying Criminal Justice. Following that Chelsea transferred to Temple University where she studied Criminal Justice and Political Science. It was there that Chelsea found her passion for history, law, and policy and how understanding and studying those topics and their intersectionality could affect great social change. After graduating from Temple University, Chelsea went on to earn her Master of Public Administration with a focus in Community Development from Rutgers University-Camden. There, Chelsea primarily focused her work on the history of immigration and the intersection of race and class in addition to Black and Latino social movement impact on social, political, and policy change. 

Professionally, Chelsea has a wealth of experience working in non-profit and community-based organizations as an employee and intern. Chelsea currently works for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey as the Policy & Organizing Specialist. She previously worked for the Public Health Management Corporation in Philadelphia as a Case Manager. In addition to that, Chelsea has previous experience working at the Trenton Free Public Library, and the Defender Association of Philadelphia with both the legal and social service side of the organization. While attending Rutgers University-Camden, Chelsea was also a Graduate Fellow with the Eagleton Institute of Politics which allowed her to work for the City of Trenton Office of the Mayor where she worked on developing solutions for police reform within the city.   

Chelsea also has a wealth of experience working with different organizations as a volunteer. Currently, Chelsea is a Collective Member with Tha Block Trenton. She also previously worked with another local Trenton non-profit, Arm in Arm on their Next-Generation Council. Prior to that Chelsea volunteered with the Petey Greene Program providing tutoring to incarcerated students to expand access to education within prisons and jails. 

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Research Interests

Chelsea’s current research interest include the historical, cultural, political, and economic impact of Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans across the United States, the impact of social movements on policy change, and the inclusion of Chicana and Chicano studies in higher-education institutions and programs across the United States.

Research Topics

Mexican Immigrants | Immigration | History | Economy

I am Robert (Corky) Frausto. I was born and raised in South Texas and participated in my first Chicano Rights protest in Del Rio in 1969. I have a BA in Psychology (UTSA) and an MA in Special Education (UNM). I moved to Albuquerque 30 years ago. I teach Chicano Studies and Chicano Literature at Highland High School in Albuquerque. I also sponsor MEChA at Highland. 

The Chicano Studies Program at Highland is unique in that it is intended as intervention classes for struggling and at risk students. My research is focused on curriculum development for secondary education ethnic studies classes and on the development of the literary canon in Chicano Literature. 

I live in Albuquerque's South Valley with 2 dogs and 3 cats. I am an artist and host an arts, crafts and music festival at my home every October. Everyone is welcome.

She/Her/Ella

Christy is an incoming Ph.D. student. She received her undergraduate degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies at UNM. She is a former Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow. She has lived on the West Coast, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southeast part of the country, but her ancestral roots are in New Mexico, all of which shape her lived experience. She resides in Albuquerque with her partner and three kids.

During Christy's undergraduate studies, she discovered the work of Gloria Anzaldúa and has been deeply shaped by Anzaldúa's concept of mestiza consciousness as it relates to the intersection of spirituality and the Chicana identity. Additionally, she was part of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship where she developed an interest in researching Chicanas and their interaction with the White Evangelical Church. This research resulted in an oral history project titled, "Brown Girl, White Church: Chicana Voices and Silence in the White Evangelical Church." During graduate school, she hopes to expand this research to include oral histories regarding Evangelical education and investigate how these environments shape Chicana spirituality.

Research Topics: Religious Studies | Chicanx Spiritualities | Chicanx Feminism | American Evangelicalism

He/Him

Gustavo García was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His family migrated from a Zapotec community in the Valles Centrales of Oaxaca, San Baltazar Chichicapam. As the first in his family to continue with higher education, he began his journey at Santa Monica College (SMC) where he received an AA in Social and Behavioral Sciences. He transferred to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and double majored in Chicana/o Studies and American Indian Studies. After receiving an MA in American Studies at the University of New Mexico (UNM), he joined the inaugural cohort of Chicana/o Studies where he is currently pursuing a PhD. Gustavo has taught in the Chicana/o Studies department, mentored community college transfer student through the NM Humanities Now! Mellon Transfer Program and has worked with undergraduate students conducting research in the El Puente Research Fellowship. He has also received numerous fellowships that include Ford Predoctoral Fellowship, Crossing Latinidades Pre-Doctoral Mellon Fellowship, Center for Regional Studies Project Fellowship, El Puente Graduate Fellowship, and Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship.

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Course(s) Offered

CCS 2110: Introduction to Chicanx Studies and CCS 460: Chicanx/Latinx in a Global Society

Research Interests

Gustavo’s dissertation project, “Constellations of Oaxacan Worldmaking,” analyzes subversive cultural expressions of Indigenous Oaxacan people across OaxaCalifornia. Through an analysis of contemporary forms of cultural expressions such as art, music, poetry, and zines, Gustavo brings together a rich archive of Indigenous Oaxacan cultural production to locate histories of dispossession, exploitation, and violence, while also revealing other ways of being, thinking, and existing.

Research Topics

Chicanx and Latinx Studies | Oaxacan Studies | Cultural Production | Indigeneity| Social Movements | Decoloniality

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

Lee Ann is a native New Mexican, born and raised in Albuquerque, in the South Valley. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Family Relations, with a Minor in Spanish, from UNM. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from New Mexico Highlands University in 2002.

Lee Ann is currently employed as a School Social Worker supporting high school students diagnosed with mental illnesses, in a social-emotional support program.

Lee Ann has worked with undocumented victims of domestic violence, providing support and guidance for access to resources to assist with physical, emotional, and mental issues related to their situations.  She has also worked with programs who provide community outreach and advocacy for underserved individuals, including homeless populations and the mentally ill. Lee Ann has provided support for foster and adoptive care placements by performing assessments to ensure the child’s safety and security.  

He/Him

Ruben is originally from Mexico City, Mexico, but has spent a large portion of his life growing up in Los Angeles, California. His experiences in Mexico and the United States have motivated him to explore Mexican and Chicanx culture at UNM, looking specifically at the sociocultural effects of border art. 

Ruben has a BFA in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and hopes to incorporate some of his design abilities into this field of study while putting time into research. He wants to help in breaking borders and communicating important messages, and believes he will get closer to that goal through UNM and the Chicana/o graduate studies program which very much embraces this breaking of borders.

Research Topics

Integration of the US-Mexico Border in Different Mediums of Art | Chicanx and Mexican Culture on a Global Scale | US-Mexico Relations | Chicanx Underrepresentation in Popular Media

She/Her

Rebecca Martinez-Baca is a long time student at the University of New Mexico, she received her AA in Digital Media Arts with a focus in Photography at UNM-Valencia, from there she received her BA in Liberal Arts with a focus in Education and Photography. Rebecca decided to pursue her MA in Art Education at UNM, she graduated in December 2021. These experiences with art and education helped lead her to community based learning through art. Rebecca will be focusing her PhD in Chicanx/Latinx Art with a focus in Archival and Curator work; Rebecca wishes to preserve Chicanx/Latinx art for its educational and historical impact for communities in New Mexico.

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Research Interests

Rebecca's research interests are in Art archive, preservation and curator. This is important from an educational stand point to help communities engage in art based education.

Research Topics

Art | Archive | Preservation | Curator | Photography

She/Her/Ella

Jewell is a Folklorist with research interests in Chicana art history as it relates to social movements. Jewell’s grandmothers were Curanderas, parteras and medicine women. Jewell’s roots span across South Texas and Yaqui traditions. Her parents and grandparents are Tejano accordionists, fiber artists and Mexican cowboys.

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Research Interests

Jewell conducts research on the cultural production of artists.

Research Topics

50th Chicano Moratorium/Contingent Arizona

Courses Offered

Introduction to Chicana Studies

He/Him

Gabino Noriega III is a Burqueno, Ph.D. Candidate, Educator, Artist, Poet, and Multi-instrumentalist. Gabino is passionate about supporting the unique needs of students of color in education. His focus areas include educational opportunities for students of color, Community Cultural Wealth, socioeconomic desegregation, student voice, Curanderismo, Ethnic Studies, and Chicano Indigeneity. In addition to his doctoral studies, Gabino has a passion for Chicanx/Latinx arts, music, film, and sustaining the cultural traditions of New Mexico. He has performed his poetry and music both nationally and internationally. He is also a family man focused on connecting his family to the Earth and the traditions of our ancestors.

Courses Offered

CCST1125: Chicanx and Latinx Musical Cultures and Expressions (Cross Listing MUS 438/538) and CCST 374/574: NM's Literary Landscapes and Beyond

He/Him/El

Dante is a non-traditional, first-generation, and transfer graduate student in the Chicanx Studies Department. He received his associate degree in Sociology from Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) in 2018. He transferred his credits from CNM to the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he earned his bachelor’s in Sociology and Chicanx Studies in 2022. His Sociology foci were in social networks and how Erving Goffman’s theory of Dramaturgy impacts a complete sense of self. His Chicanx Studies focus was on querencia and personal narratives, as well as social networks in small communities that impact how they talk about querencia. 

Soon after graduation, he started the Master’s program in Chicanx Studies in Spring 2023. While born in Albuquerque, NM, Dante considers his querencia, feeling of home and how that impacts your identity and relation to space, up and down the Rio Grande, often focusing on his experiences up north in Taos, NM, and San Luis, CO, as sites of connection to identity and community. As a writer, he focuses on the literary analysis of stories about his querencia. He is bridging his querencia to speculative fiction and the impact it has had on his exploration of what feels like home, including stories about aliens, Big Foot, and Chicano folklore cryptids like el Cucuy, la Llorona, and la Chupacabra that filled his childhood with interest in the unknown. 

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Research Topics 

Querencia |  Speculative Fiction | Northern New Mexico | Southern Colorado | Cryptids

She/Her

Jasmine Poblano is a continuing graduate student in the Chicano/a/e Studies Department at the University of New Mexico. Jasmine received her Bachelor of Arts in Chicane and Latine Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. Currently, she works with the Curandero program as a media specialist and as a teacher's assistant for the Ballet Folklórico course.

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Research Interests

Jasmine's research interests include: Transnational Latina/Chicana feminism, Chicana survivors of abuse, Chicana involvement in student movements, and Chicana perspectives within Ballet Folklórico. Jasmine is currently working on her MA portfolio and research project that focuses on Folklórico as an expression of body politics. 

Research Topics

Folklórico | Chicana Feminism | Student Movements | Chicana Survivors

She/Her

Julia Reade currently teaches at Nova High School, a public alternative school with a focus in social justice, in Seattle, Washington. A National Board Certified Teacher, she has worked in Seattle Schools as a Special Education Teacher for 14 years, and holds endorsements in Ethnic Studies, Secondary ELA, Special Education, and Health and Fitness. Julia holds a BA in English and Philosophy, a Master’s in Teaching from the University of Washington, and a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. She is currently working towards a MA in Chicana/o/x Studies at the University of New Mexico, a MA in English Literature and DA in English Pedagogy at Murray State University, and Graduate Certificates in Africa and African Diaspora Studies and Native American Studies. Her areas of research and publication include critical pedagogies, literary criticism, ethnic studies, and gender studies. 

Research Topics

Critical Pedagogies | Ethnic Studies | Literary Criticism | Gender Studies

He/Him

Nick Daniel Rivas is a first-generation college graduate who was born in El Monte, CA and grew up throughout the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley, and Coachella Valley in Southern California. Raised by his single mother and feminist grandmother, he identifies as Chicano-Latino, Chicanx-Latinx, and Peruano-Mexicano. He is a songwriter and uses lyrics, videos, and digital art as a method of decolonization, reconstructing identity, and social activism. 

Nick went to Indio High School and Xavier College Preparatory High School where he played basketball and ran track. He was involved in organizing and leading the 2006 walkouts at Indio High School for two days, resisting bill H.R.4437. In 2009 he received his G.E.D. from College of the Desert in Palm Desert, CA. He attended Mt. San Antonio College (MT. SAC) in Walnut, CA, where he earned his A.A. in Social & Behavioral Science and in Kinesiology & Wellness. He then transferred to California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), where he attained his B.A. in Chicano-Latino Studies with a minor in Native American Cultures. He received his M.A. in Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies from California State University, Los Angeles. He began documenting interviews, photos, and video for Chicana-Latina feminist from East Los Angeles community organization Old Timers of Southern California in 2019 and became an official member on October 22, 2022. Nick is currently a doctoral student in the Chicana/Chicano Studies Department at The University of New Mexico. His goal is to be an Ethnic Studies lecturer, write articles for newspapers, create movie scripts, and produce short films. 

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Research Interests

Nick's academic research experience consists of environmental racism in the Coachella Valley and Chicana feminist pedagogies and epistemologies within social movements, organizations, and work spaces. He is currently interested in initiating research on Peruvian migration to California in the 1980’s-present, the displacement of Black and Brown students in the Pomona Unified School District during the early 1990's, and the 2006 walkouts against H.R.4437 at Indio High School. 

Research Topics

Ethnic Studies | Chicana/o History | Methods of Social Activism | Environmental Racism | Transnationalism 

She/Her

Dominique Rodríguez is a doctoral student and instructor in the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department at the University of New Mexico and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Languages and Culture at New Mexico Highlands University. She holds an MA in Spanish with a concentration in Hispanic Linguistics. Her teaching experience includes courses in Chicanx history and culture, Spanish as a heritage language, and Spanish as a second language. Rodríguez is passionate about supporting students in their transition into university education and excited to support educational programs dedicated to the Chicana/o/x community. Rodríguez served as Senior Program Manager and Research Scientist at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. She worked for several years in clinical research studying the effects of stress, alcohol, and drug use during pregnancy on child development and maternal health. She contributed to the acquisition of funding and oversight of several contracts and grants focused on maternal-child health and harm reduction. She holds several collaborative publications in public health. Rodríguez’s leadership in statewide efforts to train Pharmacists on harm reduction techniques is reflected in her co-authored article, CONSIDER New Mexico: Effects of naloxone training among pharmacists and pharmacy technicians (2021).

Course(s) Offered

CCST 2110 - Introduction to Chicana/o/x Studies

Research Interests

Her current research interests in Chicana and Chicano Studies include examining the role of gendered power dynamics in Chicana/o/x spiritual beliefs, cultural norms, and traditional medicine practices. She is particularly interested in how spiritual healing practices serve as a point of resistance to systems of oppression.

Research Topics

Chicana Feminism | Spirituality | Health | Traditional Medicine

She/Her

Patricia Roybal Caballero, is a New Mexico State Representative, first elected 2012 re-elected 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and most recently in 2022; She is the former New Mexico House Democratic Caucus Chair and current National Treasurer of National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL), immediate past National Treasurer of LULAC (National League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Latino Civil Rights Organization, founded in 1929) Patricia is a 22 + generation Native New Mexican and tribal member of Piro Manso Tiwa Tribe, Pueblo of San Juan de Guadalupe, in Las Cruces, and is married to R. Carlos Caballero, former, New Mexico Public Education Commissioner, Dist. 1 and Mother of two adult sons, Yusef Sutton (television producer) daughter-in-law, Liliana Reeves Sutton (Bank Vice President), and Celestino Caballero (Independent Entrepreneur), and grandmother of grandsons, Yusef II and Nasir Phillipe Sutton and Evander Alaire Caballero and Jaylen Caballero, Brenda Gonzalez & Celestino Caballero, parents to Evander & Jaylen Caballero Patricia is an original founder of MEChA and Chicano Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1969 and 1970 respectively. She began her community activism in the United Farm Worker/AFL-CIO and is a lifelong community and labor organizer and a certified community economic, housing and business developer, specializing in neighborhood and indigenous planning.

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Course(s) Offered

Introduction to Chicana/o Studies

Research Interests

Patricia completed her Ph.D course studies in the UNM American Studies Program and transferred to UNM CCS Ph.D program when the program was finally approved in 2019. She is working on her Memoir as her dissertation tracing her lived experiences leading up to her Chicana Indigeneous activism as a founder of Chicano Studies and continuing her activism as a public servant. Her research interest includes examining the social cultural factors in lived experiences impacting social justice activism in community organizing and community development.

Research Topics

Community Participatory Approaches | Cultural studies | Politics and Social Justice

He/Him

Daniel Salcido is a Chicana/o/x-Mexicana/o grassroots community scholar-activist, he has been involved in various social justice movements. Born and raised in Denver Colorado with family roots in New Mexico, his activism career started as a historically underserved youth through the Tierra Amarilla Youth Leadership Institute, which transformed him into a promotoro and community leader within that organization. For Salcido, the awakening of a people’s history on what was considered liberated territory signified the connections between alternative forms of educational spaces, critical thinking, and cultural resistance to settler colonialism. Daniel has been mentored by local activists from the Chicana/o movement era who instilled in him the value of commemorating martyrs and others who suffered political repression. This has informed his ongoing work against the dismal social, political, and economic conditions that the Chicana/o/x-Mexicana/o people are currently subjected to. Daniel's academic work has also been informed by his activism. During undergrad, he served as the Beyond Chicanismo Oral History Project Event Coordinator, leading to four student-produced anthologies, two books, and over 100 oral history videos that detail the Colorado experience of los otros del movimiento. Daniel is currently seeking an M.A. in Chicana & Chicano Studies at the University of New Mexico. His research interests include alternative education/critical and radical pedagogies, oral history, anti-colonialism, internal colonialism, and the Chicana/o/x -Mexicana/o radical tradition. He is also part-time Chican@/x Studies Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Chicana/o Studies at the Metropolitan State University of Denver teaching a Concurrent Enrollment Introduction to Chicana/o Studies course at West High School.

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Course(s) Offered

Research Interests

Research interests include: alternative education/critical and radical pedagogies, oral history, anti-colonialism, internal colonialism, and the Chicana/o/x -Mexicana/o radical tradition.

Research Topics

Critical Pedagogy | Oral History | Internal Colonialism | Decolonization | Social Movements

Keith Sánchez is originally from Belen, New Mexico, but due to his Father’s work with the University of New Mexico’s LAPE (Latin American Programs in Education), he spent the latter part of his youth in the midst of armed rebellion and civil war in El Salvador, Centro America.  

Witnessing stark injustice, political violence, and unfathomable economic disparity, Keith was naturally propelled towards a life in education and the arts with a mission to, as Paulo Friere stated,  “teach students to think democratically and to continually question and make meaning from, and critically view, everything they learn.” 

He is presently a Chicana/o Studies, English/Language Arts, and Music Instructor at RFK Charter High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

His eighteen years of experience as an educator include working in the Albuquerque NM, Oakland and Long Beach CA, school systems in the arenas of Bilingual education, Special education, Music, and English Language Arts. Keith earned a BA in Secondary Education and endorsements in Bilingual Education, and Communicative Arts.  

He is also presently the Founder, Director, and Chief Instructor of a non-profit community music program entitled the New Mexico Academy of Rock and Blues (NMARB). 

As a grassroots arts program, NMARB focuses on providing scholarships for students with limited access to Arts Programs in the community due to socioeconomic factors. 

Keith is also a career musician who has traveled the world as a performing artist. He was the lead singer, songwriter, lyricist and guitarist for underground political sensation Stoic Frame, boasting a #1 single on R&R’s national “rock en español” charts, with music featured on major network television such as MTV Latino, The Shield, Fuse Network and BET.

Through this unique lens of educational and applied community-based experiences, Keith has developed an Arts and Cultural Curriculum that forms the crux of his Chicana/o Studies Program in the heart of the historic South Valley Barrio in Albuquerque, Nuevo Mexico. 

Keith will be pursuing an MA in Chicana/Chicano Studies at the University of New Mexico.

She/Her/Ella

Xóchitl L. Santillán Reyna was born in Durango, México. Her family migrated to the U.S when she was three years old. Xóchitl was raised in Parker, AZ and has loving memories of time spent with her siblings on the Colorado River. She is a Librarian and Archivist and completed a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science at the University of Arizona. Xóchitl also completed a Graduate Certificate in Archival Studies, focusing on Community-Centered Archives and Participatory Approaches. She has worked in various information environments including special collections, government information, community-centered archives, and public libraries. She completed her undergraduate studies in Spanish at Arizona State University with concentrations in Literature and Cultural Studies.

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Research Interests

 Xóchitl’s interests include Queer Chicana/Mexican Feminism, Jotería Studies, Community-Centered and Participatory Approaches in Library and Information Science, archival research, creative writing, and Literary and Cultural Studies

Research Topics

Queer Chicana/Mexicana Feminism | Jotería Studies | Community-Centered Archives | Participatory Approaches in Library and Information Science | Literary and Cultural Studies

He/Him/El

Jesus Tavarez is from Jalisco, Mexico but migrated at a young age with his family to Gonzales, California. Jesus comes from a campesino family who've labored in the Salinas Valley since arriving to the United States in the 90s. After graduating Gonzales High School, Jesus attended the local college, Hartnell, and Monterey Peninsula College from 2016 to 2019. He then transferred to California State University Sacramento where he received a Bachelor's degree in History in 2021. With aspirations of becoming a professor, Jesus applied to four schools as a Latin American Studies prospective student, but was denied in all four. After months of brainstorming, Jesus connected his family history with Chicana/o Studies and decided to pursue a professional preparation under this field of study. Jesus was admitted and began attending the University of New Mexico in 2022. He aspires to achieve a Master of Arts in Chicana and Chicano Studies. 

Jesus loves soccer.

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Research Interests

Jesus research interests pertain to communal and public policy studies. Jesus looks forward towards studying the campesino communities and relate their experience with public policy in Agricultural labor. With his intended research interests, Jesus seeks to influence a better campesino labor experience in order to protect the laborers and their families. Jesus seeks to research the first and second hand effects of agro-chemical exposure. In addition, Jesus will research economic studies that will portray the limited socioeconomic opportunities of the campesino community. 

Research Topics

Public Policy | Community Studies | Socioeconomic Disparities | Agrochemical Exposure | Academic Performance

He/Him

Travis Torres Thompson was raised in Taos, New Mexico. He received an Associates of Applied Science in Writing and Directing for Film from the Colorado Film School and worked as a cinematographer on several independent short films and documentary productions. He has also worked as a carver and woodworker, building furniture and cabinetry at shops in Taos and Seattle, Washington. After returning home in 2020, he enrolled at the University of New Mexico where he graduated in 2023 with a double major in Anthropology and Native American Studies.  

As an undergraduate, Travis was an El Puente Research Fellow, researching traditional and contemporary running practices among other Indigenous diaspora and in Native American communities. From his own experience with long-distance and prayer running, Travis looked at how this activity, rooted in cultural knowledge and land-based practice, can itself be a means of research and raising consciousness. In Spring 2023, he co-organized the Traditions of Endurance conference, a primarily Indigenous discussion and celebration of the many roles of dancing and running.

At UNM Albuquerque, he was also a Peer Coach in the Student Support Services TRIO program, mentoring and advocating for other low income and underrepresented students as they transitioned into college.  

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Research Interests

Travis is currently a Distinctive Native American Collections Fellow at the Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, assisting with various projects of preservation, accessibility, outreach, and the generation of new culturally appropriate models of managing archival content. He aims to continue his research into running epistemology, as well as look at how Chicanx storytellers enrich and infuse the pop culture phenomenon of comics with personal and culturally relevant narratives and representation. Travis plans to use this medium of graphic storytelling in his own presentations of research and personal narrative, highlighting its importance in disseminating regional stories and worldbuilding.

Research Topics

Land-Based Knowledge Systems | Running | Chicanx Comic Books | Community-Driven Archives | Speculative Worldbuilding

She/Her

Natalia M. Toscano is a Ph.D. candidate in the inaugural cohort of graduate students in the department of Chicana/o Studies . Natalia is a proud transfer student who attended Santa Monica College and transferred to UCLA, obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Chicana/o Studies and American Studies. As an undergraduate student, Natalia was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar where she conducted research on Danza Azteca as site of political and historical consciousness raising for Chicanx communities through the mode of embodied and collective learning. Following her undergraduate studies, Natalia obtained her Master’s in American Studies at the University of New Mexico (UNM). As a doctoral student, Natalia has supported various intellectual projects including the Crossing Latinidades Humanities Research Initiative, AfroChicanx Digital Humanities Project: Memories, Narratives, and Oppositional Consciousness of Black Diasporas, as a co-author with P.I. Dr. Doris Carega Coleman and was awarded the Crossing Latinidades Mellon Fellowship in 2022. Natalia, alongside her peers Gustavo Garcia and Ruben Loza, were granted the 2022-2023 Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies award to support a Son Jarocho open access community workshops. Alongside these projects Natalia currently serves as a managing editor for the journal Regeneraciòn: A Xicanacimiento Studies Journal, to continue promoting critical scholarship in Chicana/o/x Studies.

Growing up in Oakland, CA, Natalia was raised in spaces of community advocacy and popular education. Her background in educational advocacy has fueled her participation in programs supporting access, retention, and graduation for historically excluded communities, including working class, first-generation, and students of color. In the spirit of building and strengthen pathways for educational access, Natalia has supported El Centro’s El Puente Research Fellowship program as a Graduate Research Fellow and demystifying the hidden curriculum of academia and supporting undergraduate research. Secondly, Natalia has supported transfer students through the New Mexico Humanities Now! Mellon Transfer Initiative. She has supported Ethnic Studies as a graduate student building curriculum for the departments ISEE College program and supporting APS teacher professional development in Chicana/o Studies. 

Outside of the university, Natalia is a member of the Chicanx World-Making & Futurities Project, a (digital) humanities working group investigating and performing low-tech rasquache multi-media for Latinx and Chicanx readers, viewers, and listeners. She is also a member of the network Sexta Grietas del Norte, a constellation of individuals, collectives and organizations who adhere to the Zapatista’s Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle and principles of collective organizing. Through this network, Natalia accompanies the Zapatistas, the Congreso Nacional Indigena, and communities in rebellion both in the U.S., Mexico, and hemispherically who build autonomy and envision un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos. Natalia is a danzante, zinster, and jaranera.

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Research Interests

Natalia’s dissertation is tentatively titled, “Queremos Muchos Mundos: Chicanx Transnational Organizing and the Radical Imaginations for Autonomy”. Her dissertation explores the transnational relationship between Chicanx and Mexican leftists organizing and struggling against neoliberal projects of resource, land, and labor extraction. Centering how communities against this backdrop of domination, imagine and enact autonomy.

Research Topics

Political Imaginaries | Chicanx Politcs | Transnational Organizing | Chicana Feminisms | Chicanx Futurities and World Making | Chicanx Popular Culture | Digital Humanities | Oral Histories

He/Him

Elias received his BA degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of New Mexico. He was raised in Los Angeles, California. Since moving to Albuquerque he has taken up the study of Son Jarocho, a musical genre from Veracruz, New Mexico. His study of this music led him to apply to the MA degree program in Chicana and Chicano Studies. He will graduate in spring 2023 and looks forward to continuing his studies in a PhD or study abroad program. Elias' hobbies including hiking, sports, and listening to music.

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Research Interests

Elias has a strong interest in studying culture and cultural production. Specifically, he enjoys learning about music and the arts. He has written papers on the impact of music on social organizations and social advocacy. For Elias, learning about the history and evolution of Son Jarocho, music from the state of Veracruz, Mexico, has opened up a new inquiry about the impact of music and music production in an educational setting. He seeks to understand how music can transmit values that oppose dominant culture’s emphasis on assimilation and homogeneity. Son Jarocho features lyrics in Spanish and highlights the experiences of everyday people.

Research Topics

History | Music | Art | Son Jarocho | Ethnic Studies