Leslie Quintanilla

Leslie Quintanilla is an Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Advisor at San Francisco State University, specializing in transnational borderland activisms, environmental justice, and cross-diasporic solidarities. She holds a PhD in Ethnic Studies and a Certificate in Critical Gender Studies from UC San Diego.

Her work bridges grassroots organizing and academic research, focusing on decolonial approaches to climate justice and community-led movements. She co-founded the Center for Interdisciplinary Environmental Justice (CIEJ), a collective collaborating with Indigenous communities to address lithium mining impacts tied to electrification economies.

• PhD in Ethnic Studies (UC San Diego)
• Certificate in Critical Gender Studies (UC San Diego)

Research interests include:

• Women-of-color feminist artivism
• Transnational environmental justice
• Zapatismo and US/Mexico border dynamics
• Climate change activism across Mediterranean and Indigenous contexts