Carla García-Fernández

Dr. Carla García-Fernández, a Faculty Director at Gallaudet University, is a scholar and advocate for Latine Deaf communities. She leads Nuestra Casa, the Center for Latine Deaf Studies, focusing on reshaping academic and research efforts through an Ethnic Studies lens.

• B.A. in Child Development, Gallaudet University
• M.A., University of Arizona
• Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Cultural Studies in Education with a graduate portfolio in Mexican American Studies, University of Texas at Austin

Her research encompasses intersectionality, critical race studies, and Deaf-Chicanx/Latinx critical theory, which she formalized as DeafLatCrit with tenets like storytelling, culture preservation, and language sustainability. Her publications in journals like International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education and edited book Transformative Translanguaging Espacios highlight her focus on identity and translanguaging practices.

She is affiliated with organizations such as the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies and Critical Race Studies in Education Association. She previously served as Associate Professor at California State University, Northridge, where she founded Manos de CSUN, a student space for multiracial Deaf and hearing students. At Gallaudet, she is advancing the center’s mission to document Latine Deaf history and education, with initial research projects on self-identified Deaf Latine students and a planned 2024 NAD conference study.