Marta Caminero-Santangelo is a Professor in the Department of English at the University of Kansas. Her work bridges literary criticism with social justice activism, focusing on U.S. Latinx literature, trauma narratives, and the role of storytelling in immigrant rights movements. Research: Literature’s role in social change, especially for marginalized communities Teaching: Courses on Latinx literature, social justice, and 20th-century American literature Service: Community engagement with immigrant rights organizations Her scholarship analyzes how narratives by undocumented immigrants, DREAMers, and Afro-Cubans challenge power structures and foster solidarity. She has published extensively on topics including testimonio, border-crossing trauma, and panethnic identity construction. Recent publications examine life-writing by undocumented youth, the evolution of the Sanctuary Movement, and intersections of religion with migration activism. Her work combines literary theory with empirical engagement, emphasizing the relevance of cultural analysis to real-world social struggles.
Gloria Itzel Montiel, PhD, serves as an instructor in the Allies of Dreamers Certificate program within the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. An alumna of CGU, she was among the first DACA recipients to obtain a PhD in the United States. She combines her lived experience as an undocumented student with professional expertise in health equity and educational program design. Dr. Montiel earned her PhD in Education from Claremont Graduate University, an EdM in Learning & Teaching from Harvard, and a BA in English & American Literature & Language from Harvard. Her academic journey as an undocumented student was featured in the 2011 documentary Almost American . Montiel's research focuses on the undocumented student experience in selective private colleges, institutional capacity to serve undocumented students, and social determinants of health at the intersection of race and immigration. Her work bridges educational access and health equity, examining how immigration status affects academic trajectories and health outcomes. She structures her courses to develop concrete strategies for supporting undocumented students and mixed-status families throughout the PK-20 pipeline. Her scholarly output reveals consistent thematic focus across disciplines, connecting immigration status with educational access, health outcomes, and community resilience. Her work increasingly incorporates community-based participatory research approaches and examines pandemic impacts on vulnerable populations, particularly Latinx communities. Montiel's research demonstrates how civic engagement serves as a critical social determinant of health and educational equity. As an experienced health equity and educational program design leader, Montiel has secured more than $18 million in grants and contracts for high-impact programming. She currently serves as the founding director of community engaged research at the AltaMed Institute for Health Equity and as consulting director of strategy & sustainability at Latino Health Access in Orange County, California. Montiel has presented her work at major academic conferences including the American Educational Research Association, National Association of Student Affairs Professionals, and American Public Health Association. Her community leadership was instrumental in developing Orange County's initial $3 million investment for the COVID-19 health equity response at the zip code level in 2020.
California State University, Long BeachUnited States
Lindsay Pérez Huber is a Professor in the Equity, Education and Social Justice program within the Department of Advanced Studies in Education and Counseling at the College of Education, California State University, Long Beach. She is also the Coordinator of the Equity, Education and Social Justice program and teaches graduate courses in social and cultural analysis, critical pedagogies, and qualitative research methods. Education: Ph.D., Social Science and Comparative Education, specialization in Race and Ethnic Studies, UCLA M.A., Social Science and Comparative Education, specialization in Race and Ethnic Studies, UCLA B.A., Chicano/Latino Studies, UC Irvine B.A., Political Science, UC Irvine Dr. Pérez Huber's research centers on critical race theory, racial microaggressions, Chicana feminist epistemologies, and the educational experiences of undocumented Latinx students. She employs interdisciplinary and humanizing methodologies such as testimonio and Critical Race Feminista Methodology to examine systemic racism and resistance in educational contexts. Her work bridges CRT and LatCrit to analyze how racist nativism and political rhetoric shape educational inequities. Her recent publications reflect a strong trend toward theorizing racial microaffirmations as responses to microaggressions, advancing QuantCrit methodologies, and developing critical content analysis frameworks for children's literature. She has also contributed significantly to understanding the impact of DACA and immigration policies on Latinx communities. Scientific Awards and Honors: National Academies Ford Foundation Fellow Visiting Scholar, UCLA Center for Critical Race Studies Vice President, Critical Race Studies in Education Association (CRSEA) Dr. Pérez Huber is actively involved in research leadership, having co-coordinated the UCLA Latina/o Education Summit and led major policy reports on educational equity. She mentors emerging scholars and collaborates extensively on critical race research. Her work is widely published and cited, with a significant digital presence on Academia.edu. Research Centers and Teams: She has collaborated with the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center and the Eva Longoria Foundation on impactful studies related to Latina education and immigration policy. She is a core contributor to the Critical Race Studies in Education Association (CRSEA) and helps shape national discourse on racial justice in education.
Alison A. Lukowski is an Associate Professor and Director of the Stout Core at the University of Wisconsin-Stout's College of Arts & Human Sciences, specializing in the English, Philosophy & Communication Studies Department. She teaches courses in basic writing, first-year writing, and rhetoric. Her research explores the rhetorical construction of women’s bodies in contexts of motherhood and infertility, alongside issues in first-year composition pedagogy. Dr. Lukowski holds a Ph.D. in English and Rhetoric and Composition from Northern Illinois University, an M.A. in English from Loyola University Chicago, and a B.A. in English and Political Science from Alma College. Her research interests include rhetoric, advocacy writing, and digital genres. Notable work focuses on marginalized voices, such as Black maternal health advocacy and DACA advocacy through community writing initiatives. She critiques institutional rhetoric around social change and explores genre authority in digital spaces like Wikipedia. Lukowski’s articles span topics from public writing for social justice to pedagogical practices in academia. Her work bridges theoretical rhetoric with practical applications in education and advocacy, emphasizing inclusive spaces for writers.
