Valerie Chavez was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her family lineage is firmly planted in New Mexico and is a key influence in her academic interests.

Valerie graduated from UNM with her B.A. in Intercultural Communication and a minor in Chicana/o Studies. She is currently working as the lead graduate project assistant for the Project for New Mexico Graduates of Color. 

Valerie’s research is rooted in her Nueva Mexicana identity. Her current thesis research project is titled The Contributions of Nueva Mexicanas to the Albuquerque Lowrider Community: How do young Chicanas express their Cultural Identity through the Albuquerque Lowrider Community? This oral history and documentation research project is visual and plática-based and explores the ways young Nueva Mexicanas express their Chicana identity while actively participating in lowrider culture. Valerie’s thesis project’s goal is to understand, discover, and document the roles of Nueva Mexicanas in the Albuquerque lowrider community and how their actions over time have maintained and enabled the lowrider culture and community to continue. 

CV

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