Biography

I completed a Masters of Social Work degree  (Community Organizations and Social Systems) at the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Applied Cultural Anthropology from California State University, Fullerton. 

Some of my research interests include multicultural education, social awareness through film, student success programming, tourism impacts on social systems, Pacific Islander social issues,  visual anthropology and, ethnography.

Article in Society for Applied Anthroplogy,SFAA News Journal

What Does Heritage Mean to You? Preliminary Survey Analysis Suggests Some Interesting Possibilities
Society for Applied Anthropology News, August 19, 2010

The Anthropology of Tourism, an upper-division class in the Department of Anthropology at California State University, Fullerton, conducted a random, anonymous survey on the public perceptions of the term “heritage”. Questions focused on what the term “heritage” actually means to the public, whether it is perceived as a valuable resource, and if so, how important do individuals rank the concept of heritage? During the semester, more than one-thousand anonymous surveys were collected from various locations, such as around the university campus, family members, airports, and online survey responses.

To read the rest of the article follow link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0_nWB8ynJTyZ3VzX19kNV9VTm8/view?usp=sharing

Received 2010 National Science Foundation Honor

In 2010, received an Honorable Mention for my Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) proposal. NSF received over 12,000 submissions that particular year; 2,025 research proposals were selected for Honorable Mention and 2,000 were awarded fellowships.

RESEARCH: National Science Foundation REU

National Science Foundation
Research Experience for Undergradutes

During the summer of 2009 I participated in
the NSF sponsored program at the University
of North Texas. I completed a research paper
titled:

On the Line in the Motor City:
Narratives of Latina Auto Worker Culture

Abstract:
Latina auto workers are an unrecognized population within the U.S. auto industry. This study gives voice to them by using personal accounts of their struggles working on an assembly line while raising a family. I discuss the shared vision of the American Dream of Latinas and explore how their desire for the American Dream is made all the more difficult by lifelong marginalization and the challenge of cultural assimilation. In particular, I explore the settlement patterns of Latino families to Michigan, their personal experiences navigating the auto factory work place and the effects of their role as an auto worker on their family. To gain a broader understanding of the experiences of Latinas working in the auto industry I also look at their perceptions of their own childhood experiences. Studying their interactions with others in the auto factory and exploring factors effecting the raising of their children will illustrate the complexity of their everyday lives.

Click on poster to see larger view.

Field Site Photos - On The Line in the Motor City

On my way driving down a country back road to interview a woman who retired from General Motors. Adrian, Michigan. July 2009


Empty parking lot of General Motors plant in Toledo, Ohio where my father retired from. Toledo, Ohio. July 2009


General Motors Powertrain plant sign from which my father retired from. Toledo, Ohio. July 2009


Old General Motors Fisher Body factory where both my parents worked. It closed in 1986 and is now leased out by another manufacturing company. Tecumseh, Michigan. July 2009


Latina Focus Group - Adrian, Michigan. July 2009

Summer 2009 National Science Foundation REU Project - Archival Photos

The photos below were given to me by many of the Latina auto workers who collaborated with me during my research in the summer of 2009. The images represent the close friendships between the Latinas during their time working in the factories.

My mother (second from left) on the picket line in 1984, protesting against the closure of her Tecumseh, Michigan auto factory.

National Science Foundation - Research Experience for Undergraduates

Summer 2009 Cohort
I'm left corner, front row.