Faculty/Staff Affiliates

The steering committee for the Minor is comprised of faculty, staff, and students with an interest in serving the local and national Latina/o communities. The steering committee creates and implements a vision for the Minor based on local needs and national trends in Latina/o Studies. The curriculum committee is a subset of the steering committee. These members are responsible for soliciting and approving course proposals for the Minor. Once courses are approved by the curriculum committee, they continue through the university’s undergraduate course proposal review committee (UCPRC) approval process.

*Denotes membership in the curriculum committee.

Dr. Kimberly Mahaffy*, Coordinator of the Latina/o Studies Minor
Professor of Sociology

Dr. Justin García*, Curriculum Committee Chairperson 
Associate Professor of Anthropology

Dr. Bertha Saldana DeJesus
Assistant Professor of Social Work

Dr. Leonora Foels*
Associate Professor of Social Work

Dr. Jessica Kelly
Associate Professor of Geography

Dr. John Kaiser Ortiz
Associate Professor of Philosophy

Dr. Christina Pantoja-Williams
Director of Pre-College Programs

Dr. Laura Ramos Sepulveda*
Assistant Professor of Biology

Professor Michele Santamaria
Librarian for English, Latina/o Studies, Languages and Cultures