About Us > Who We Are > Staff Directory

ADMINISTRATION:

Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Chair-CLPR
and Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies

Professor Maldonado-Torres received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Brown University and joined the Berkeley faculty in 2004. He is Associate Professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies in the Department of Ethnic Studies and President of the Caribbean Philosophical Association. He has a distinguished record in research and scholarly publication on the linkages between epistemological and social transformations. He has published books dealing with philosophy, critical theory, sociology, and social movements. Most recently, he is the author of Against War: Views from the Underside of Modernity, the editor of a special issue on Caribbean philosophy in the journal Caribbean Studies, as well as the coordinator of a web dossier entitled Post-Continental Philosophy, in the web journal Worlds and Knowledges Otherwise. In 2005, he co-edited with Ramón Grosfoguel and José David Saldívar the book Latin@s in the World-System: Decolonization Struggles in the 21st U.S. Empire. He is a founding member of the organizing committee to initiate the Latina/o Academy of Arts and Sciences at UC Berkeley.

Blanca Gordo, Academic Coordinator

Dr. Blanca Gordo is the Academic Coordinator for CLPR, where she directs program development, public policy initiatives and the Technology and Development Research Group. Dr. Gordo holds a doctorate in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She specializes in technology development processes that involve the study of economic development (regional and global), technology, poverty, inequality structures, community, organizations and public policy. She has taught related courses in the deparment of Sociology at the University of San Francisco and the departments of City and Regional Planning and Ethnic Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. She writes about policy experiments addressing the effects of technology integration into society’s productive function on the poor under institutional crisis and lack of planning for social inclusion in evolving development processes underway.

Ruth Patiño, Business and Program Manager

Ruth recently celebrated her 15th year anniversary at the CLPR. She is committed to improving and augmenting many of the programs that the CLPR offers to the U.C. Berkeley community.

 

Dr. Carolina Serna, Visiting Scholar

Dr. Carolina Serna is Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department at California State University, Monterey Bay. She teaches literacy methods, cultural and linguistic diversity, bilingual education and second language acquisition. Currently, she is investigating the English language development of Triqui speaking children. The focus of her project is to identify strategies that equip teachers to support indigenous language learners in an English only environment. Dr. Serna has researched the writing development and assessment of elementary bilingual students in maintenance bilingual programs.

 

 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS:

Marisol Silva, Graduate Student Researcher, Higher Education

Marisol Silva received her M.A. in Ethnic Studies and is a doctoral
student in the comparative ethnic studies program with a designated
emphasis in women, gender, and sexuality. She joined the CLPR in Spring 2008 and researches the impact of higher education admission policy changes on Latino students. Marisol's focus is on the intersections of higher education policy and representations of higher education in Latina/o literature, art, and culture.

 

Nicole Fox, Graduate Student Researcher, Technology and Development

Nicole is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science with an
emphasis in American Politics, political behavior, and quantitative research
methods. She studies representation and participation of minority
populations, and has a particular interest in the impact of Latino public
opinion on legislative behavior and public policy outcomes in California.
Nicole joined the Center in the Spring of 2009 and works on issues relating
to Latinos, technology policy and economic development.

Adriana Arteaga, Research Assistant

Adriana graduated in May with a B.A. in Anthropology. Her focus has been Latin American Studies and education. Her interests reside in cultural studies, particularly race, ethnicity, and identity. She joined the CLPR in 2007 where she became part of the Maya Diaspora Working Group, which investigates the migratory experiences of the Yucatec Maya community who have journeyed to and from Northern California.

SUPPORT STAFF:

Maria Tapia, Administrative Support

Maria graduated in May with a B.A. in Sociology. She is the immediate assistant to all staff and is the friendly voice of the CLPR. She has been with the CLPR since Spring 2007.