| Presenters are listed alphabetically.
Abriendo Fronteras
Abriendo Fronteras is a border immersion group not
affiliated with an educational institution that seeks to break down
images and myths about border life by inviting people to "come and
see" -- travel with us and witness the realities on the border.
Jaime Chahín
Dr. Chahín received his Ph.D. in
Education Administration from the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor. He completed his postdoctoral work at Harvard and Salsburg
Institute on sustainable communities. He is an officer of
the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. Dr. Chahín served as advisor to the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation
Master Teacher Project and the Kellogg Foundation Enlace Project.
Dr. Chahín’s principal
research interests involve educational, social, and economic policy
issues that impact Latino populations in America. His recent
projects include “Las Colonias, Entre Dos Mundos,” and “Mexican
American Legislative Caucus: The Texas Struggle for Equality and
Opportunity.”
Natalie Fernandez-Mejia
Natalie Fernandez Mejia is an undergraduate student
at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Currently in her senior
year, she plans on graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in
the paralegal field in the Fall of 2008. Along with a B.S. degree,
she will complete a minor in Spanish and a minor in Chicano and
Latino Studies.
Oscar Flores
Dr. Oscar Flores is a professor of Economics at Minnesota State
University Moorhead. He has published on immigration, trade, and
local economic issues. He also serves as the contract negotiator for
the faculty union, the Inter Faculty Organization.
Christine La Coursiere
Currently a senior at MSUM, Ms. La Coursiere is
pursuing a major in English with a minor in Spanish and a minor in
Chicano and Latino Studies. She has been involved with Organización
Latina Americana for two years, volunteered at Centro Cultural, and
most recently worked with Mujeres Unidas.
Vic Lara
Vic Lara’s grandparents and parents were migrant farm
workers who came to the Red River Valley during the sugar beet
season. It was in the fields, as a youngster, that Mr. Lara
discovered his artistic talent during rainy days and breaks from the
fields. He would paint using eggs, dirt, tomatoes, and leaves --
anything with color. Mr. Lara would take small tree branches and
smash the ends until they were fine enough to use as a brush. Vic
Lara has no formal training or attended any art school. He has been
drawing since he discovered he has a natural ability and talent.
Abraham Ledezma
Mr. Ledezma is from Morton Minnesota. He is a senior
at Minnesota State University Moorhead majoring in Antrhopology with
an emphasis on Archaeology. His interests are in Ceramic Analysis
and Mesoamerican Archaeology.
Rogelio L.
Munoz
Rogelio L. Muñoz has served as the executive director for the
Chicano Latino Affairs Council since
2006. Muñoz works to inform and advise the governor and state
legislature on education, health, housing, immigration, and economic
development issues. His areas of expertise are in public leadership
and management, policy analysis methods, and U.S. national security
policy. Before coming to the Council, he worked in the National
Security Law Branch at the Federal Bureau of Investigation
headquarters in Washington, D.C. Muñoz earned a master’s degree
from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of
Minnesota.
Francisca Peterson
Ms. Peterson is a nationally certified school psychologist working
in the Lincoln Public Schools Gifted Program in Lincoln, Nebraska.
She also is a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner working with FIRST
Project, an agency that provides mental health services to
individuals, both adults and children, who are survivors of torture.
Craig Picka
A
senior at
Minnesota
State University Moorhead, Mr. Picka
is originally from Morton, Minnesota. His major is
in Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology. He has a strong
interest in Mesoamerican Archaeology and plans to pursue a graduate
degree in this field.
Carlos Quinche
Mr. Quinche is a music artist from
Ecuador, South America who currently lives in Minnesota. His music
ranges from traditional melodies from his country to contemporary
American covers. Mr. Quinche uses traditional Andean instruments
made from bamboo. In some recordings, he uses instruments from
Native American cultures.
Steven Renderos
Steven Renderos is the lead organizer of the
Minnesotano Media Empowerment Project. While attending Hamline
University in Saint Paul, Steven and other students challenged the
institution to cultivate a learning environment conducive to the
needs of people of color. He became a community organizer for All
Parks Alliance for Change (APAC), a statewide tenants union. While
at APAC he graduated from the Minnesota Center for Neighborhood
Organizing and the Organizing Apprenticeship Project. He believes
that the media has the power to shape public perception and that the
Latina/o community must be key stakeholders from within and outside
of media.
Ruben Rivera
Dr. Ruben
Rivera is a Puerto Rican born in Bronx, NY and raised in Los
Angeles, CA. He recently received his Ph.D. from Boston University
specializing in the history of Christianity in Latin America. He
lives with his wife Anita in Minneapolis, MN, and is on the faculty
of the Department of History at Bethel University in St. Paul.
Victor Rodriguez
Dr. Rodriguez is a professor in the Department of Chicano and Latino
Studies at California State University, Long Beach. His articles
appear in the Latino Encyclopedia (Marshall-Cavendish) and his
essay, “Racialization of Puerto Rican Ethnicity,” was published by
the University of Puerto Rico Press. Also, Mexican-Americans and
Puerto Ricans in Latino Social Movements (Routledge Press)
contains a chapter by Dr. Rodriguez. He contributes columns and
journalistic pieces on Puerto Rican/Latino issues to numerous
publications in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. He is a
nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and consultant on diversity,
cross-cultural relations, and Latino culture.
Marco Tapia
and Cindy Valle
Mr. Tapia is
from San Luis Potosi, Mexico and currently studies at Minneapolis
Community &Technical College pursuing an education in Liberal Arts.
He is active member of Chicanos Latinos Unidos Club. Cindy Valle
currently attends Minneapolis Community & Technical College
pursuing the MN Transfer Curriculum. She is an active member of
Chicano Latinos Unidos Club. Ms. Valle will transfer to Augsbug
College for Fall 2008.
Bianca
Villeda
Bianca
Villeda is from El Salvador and is studying nursing at the
Minneapolis Community & Technical College. She is currently employed
at La Casa De Esperanza as a Family Advocate.
Lisa Sass Zaragoza
Lisa Sass Zaragoza has worked in the educational arena for 15 years
in rural and urban settings as a youth worker, teacher, community
organizer, school administrator and consultant. In the 1990’s, she
was the Latino Recruiter in the Admissions Office at the University
of Minnesota and later was the Co-founder and Director of the
U-Migrant Project. She brings experience with
the K-12 and higher education communities,
migrant worker and organizations, and action-based research. She is
president of the MN Network of Latinos in Higher Education.
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