Mary Pena

Mary Pena is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College and holds the Mellon Faculty Fellow appointment. She specializes in the intersections of race, gender, visual/material culture, and urban ecology, with a focus on Afro-diaspora communities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Her current book project examines spatial change in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, analyzing how Afro-Dominican women interact with shifting urban environments.

Education: B.A. from Queens College, Ph.D. from University of Michigan.

Her research extends into critical digital humanities and curation, leading to exhibitions like Alive in their garden (2022), Un-bound (2023), and Coastal Relations: Enacting Diaspora (2024). These projects bridge academic scholarship with public cultural engagement.

She has received the Mellon Faculty Fellowship, reflecting her impactful contributions to interdisciplinary research and teaching.