Lorena Márquez

Lorena Márquez, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chicana/o Studies within the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Davis. Her research and teaching focus on Chicana/o history, identity, memory, and social movements in the United States, particularly in Sacramento, California.

Education:

• Ph.D. in History, University of California, San Diego
• M.A. in History, California State University, Sacramento
• B.A. in History and Spanish, California State University, Sacramento

Dr. Márquez is a Chicana historian whose work centers on the Chicana/o movement, with an emphasis on oral histories (testimonios), trauma, gender, race, class, and community resilience. Her interdisciplinary scholarship bridges history, ethnic studies, and feminist theory. She explores how marginalized communities document their own histories and resist erasure through storytelling and collective memory.

Her publications reflect a deep engagement with community-based research methodologies. The themes across her work include civil rights activism, educational equity, transnational identities, and the role of women in social movements. Her research is especially notable for its use of lived experience and narrative as historical evidence.

Scientific Awards:

• National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) Book of the Year Award – Honorable Mention (2022)
• Certificate of Recognition and Appreciation from the Sacramento Movimiento Chicano Oral History Initiative (2014)
• Nomination for ASUCD Excellence in Education Award (2013)
• Service to the Community Award, College Assistant Migrant Program, CSU Sacramento (2011)

Dr. Márquez is the Project Director of the Sacramento Movimiento Chicano and Mexican American Education Project Oral History Project, which has preserved 98 video-recorded testimonies of activists from 1965–1980, with plans to expand to 125. This community archive is housed at Sacramento State’s Special Collections. Her work is deeply committed to educational access and equity, informed by her background as a first-generation college student and daughter of Mexican migrant farmworkers. She mentors students and contributes to admissions through her service on the CST Admissions Committee.

She has no listed advisees in the provided material, but her leadership in community-engaged scholarship demonstrates a strong commitment to student and community empowerment.