This book was created as a collaborative project by five faculty of color with research, teaching, and professional experience in Chicanx/Latinx studies and ethnic studies. You can find out more about each of the authors in the following section. Each author contributed to one or more specific chapters, which is noted at the bottom of each page and summarized in Section 1.4: Overview of the Textbook.
Amber Rose González, PhD
Image Description: Dr. Amber Rose González standing in front of a mural featuring a rainbow and Mesoamerican symbols
Amber Rose González is a queer Apachicana (Apache~Mexican~Spanish descent) born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley, California and ancestrally rooted in New Mexico and Jalisco. She is a proud transfer student who earned a B.A. in Gender, Ethnicity, and Multicultural Studies from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies with a doctoral emphasis in Feminist Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. González is currently a professor of Ethnic Studies at Fullerton College, a writer-researcher-organizer with the Los Angeles-based feminist of color spiritual artivist collective Mujeres de Maiz, a certified yoga teacher, and a wife, mami, and auntie.
Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza-Kulick, PhD
Image Description: Dr. Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza-Kulick in a field of roses
Dr. Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza-Kulick is an Instructor of Ethnic Studies at Cuesta College, Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies Community College Faculty Fellow, poet, scholar, and author. He earned a BA in Ethnic Studies with a minor in Indigenous Studies in Natural Resources and the Environment from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. His MA and PhD in Sociology were achieved at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as a Health Policy Research Scholar funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This work with and for Chicanx and Latinx communities is rooted in a commitment to family and community on California's Central Coast and in Michoacán, Mexico (Purépecha). Dr. Espinoza-Kulick shares stories about culture, health equity, and community leadership as a host of Central Coast Voices on the National Public Radio (NPR) station KCBX. His work has been published in Oxford University Press, the International Journal of Environmental Researchand Public Health, Health Promotion Practice, and regional news outlets like El Latino, Santa Maria Times, and the Santa Barbara Independent.
Melissa Moreno, PhD
Image Description: Dr. Melissa Moreno facing directly forward
Melissa Moreno (Xicana and Otomi) is a Professor of Ethnic Studies and has taught courses in Chicana/o Studies, Native American Studies, and Comparative Ethnic Studies over the last fifteen years. She is a first-generation college student. Dr. Moreno is the co-founder of the California Community College Ethnic Studies faculty council, Ethnic Studies YOLO Academy, and member of the Indigenous Caucus for the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS), among other associations. She is an activist scholar, public speaker, facilitator, program coordinator, writer, and has served on Ethnic Studies advisory committees. She holds certificate degrees in Ethnic Studies and Tribal Leadership and Governance, and doctorate and master’s degrees in education. Also, she holds bachelor degrees in Sociology and Women Studies from the University California.
Lucha Arévalo, PhD
Image Description: Dr. Lucha Arévalo looking forward with intention
Dr. Lucha Arévalo is an Associate Professor of Chicana/o/x Studies at Río Hondo College. She earned a BA in Chicano/a Studies and Sociology with a minor in Black Studies from the University of California (UC), Santa Barbara. She earned her MA in Sociology and Education with a concentration in Policy Studies from Teachers College at Columbia University. She earned her MA and PhD in Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside with her dissertation, Insurgent Learning: Confronting Neoliberal Assaults on Public Education in Los Angeles County, 2000-2015 which captures efforts to privatize public schools, while highlighting the ongoing resistance of teachers, parents, and students as they work to transform their public institutions. Lucha’s commitment to educational justice includes research and writing while remaining grounded in community-driven initiatives. She finds joy in raising her child and visiting her ancestral P’urhépecha home in Michoacán, Mexico.
Eddy Francisco Alvarez Jr., PhD
Image Description: Dr. Eddy Francisco Alvarez Jr. on a sunny day
Dr. Alvarez Jr. is a first-generation college student and a former elementary school teacher. An interdisciplinary scholar, he obtained an B.A. and M.A. in Spanish from California State University, Northridge, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies from University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests include Chicanx and Latinx aesthetics, performance, and popular culture, Gender and Sexuality, Queer oral histories, Los Angeles queer Latinx histories, Queer of color theories, Jotería Studies, Jotería pedagogies, Queer Space, Feminist geographies, Sound Studies, and Critical Fat Studies. His academic and creative work has been published in Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Revista Bilingüe/Bilingual Review, TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, Journal of Lesbian Studies, and Sounding Out! The Sound Studies Blog.
