Ligiah Villalobos Rojas

Ligiah Villalobos Rojas is a tenured Associate Professor at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA), where she has taught screenwriting and media studies. She also serves as MFA Screenwriting Faculty in the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University and has held adjunct professor roles at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and Loyola Marymount University (LMU).

Dr. Villalobos earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in 2016. Her research interests span screenwriting, film production, cultural consultation in entertainment, and diversity initiatives in the media industry.

She has made significant contributions to television and film, including executive producing the indie feature Under the Same Moon (highest sale for a Spanish-language film at Sundance) and consulting on Pixar's Coco. Her work focuses on representation in storytelling and expanding opportunities for underrepresented voices in entertainment.

Dr. Villalobos has received the Humanitas Prize for her film work and actively mentors through Sundance Institute Labs and NALIP. She serves on the board of Immigrant Defenders Law Center and the Honorary Board of The Point Foundation, supporting LGBTQ+ students.