Cristina L. Azocar

Dr. Cristina L. Azocar is a citizen of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe and Professor of Journalism at San Francisco State University, where she serves as Journalism Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator of the Presidential Scholars Program. She holds a doctorate in Communication Studies from the University of Michigan, a master's in Ethnic Studies, and a bachelor's in Journalism from SFSU.

Her research examines race and journalistic practice, focusing on news coverage of Indigenous peoples and decolonizing media paradigms. Current projects include a book titled Decolonizing Media Research and a visual presentation analyzing 150 years of media commodification of Pocahontas.

Awards & Honors:

• First recipient of AEJMC’s Dr. Paula M. Poindexter Research Grant
• 2021 Distinguished Service to Journalism Award (with Lourdes Cárdenas) for creating the Bilingual Spanish Journalism degree

She advises through the Presidential Scholars Program and previously advised the Student Kouncil of Intertribal Nations. Dr. Azocar also serves on her Tribe’s Constitution Committee and the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.