Tabitha Espina

Tabitha Espina serves as Director of Writing and Assistant Professor of Writing Studies within the Culture, Arts and Communication division of the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma. A third-generation Filipina proudly born and raised on Guåhan (Guam), she bridges academic scholarship with community activism through decolonial frameworks.

Her educational trajectory includes a Ph.D. from Washington State University (2020), an M.A. from the University of Guam (2013), and a B.A. from the University of Guam (2011). These foundations anchor her commitment to Pacific Islander epistemologies and critical pedagogy.

Dr. Espina's research centers on Transpacific Rhetorics, interrogating colonial power structures in writing classrooms through Decolonial Theories and Pedagogies. Her work prominently features Public Humanities engagement, with deep focus on Filipina/o/x and CHamoru identity formation across generations. She examines cultural practices like foodways (halo halo, ube, sapin sapin) as sites of resistance and hybridity, documenting narratives of Pacific diasporic communities through qualitative methodologies.

Her 15+ publications (2014-2024) reveal consistent thematic evolution: early work established generational identity frameworks (Sapin Sapin Generation, 2014), while recent scholarship expands into institutional reform (Land-Grant Humanities Ph.D., 2023) and transnational activism (Bonds of Island Activism, 2023). Appearing in flagship journals like College English and university press collections (Duke, Pittsburgh), her output demonstrates rigorous interdisciplinary fusion of rhetoric, ethnic studies, and Pacific Islander sovereignty movements.

As a founding member of Filipinos for Guåhan, she actively partners with Humanities Washington, Oregon Humanities, and Humanities Guåhan on advocacy initiatives. Though specific advising details aren't publicized, her role as Writing Director implies oversight of Tacoma's writing curriculum and faculty development. Her community-based research teams prioritize CHamoru-Filipina solidarity, evidenced by collaborative projects like the 2023 Okinawan Journal of Island Studies publication.