Researchers

I am an applied anthropologist, ethnographer, folklorist, and engaged community member of Tucson, Arizona. I engage in applied research related to food insecurity, immigrant health, and local culinary and growing traditions. I earned my PhD. in cultural anthropology from the University of Arizona in 2016, where I studied the relationship between emotional trauma and health declines in the Mexican immigrant community (see: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00177/full). I currently work at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center, where I engage in research related to the emotional impact on the families of migrants who go missing or dir during the border crossing. I also serve as Resident Folklorist with the Southwest Folklife Alliance, where I teach ethnographic methods to youth and other community members and explore the rich folklife of local Mexican and Chicano communities. I sit on the board of directors of Clinica Amistad y Salud, a free clinic serving immigrants and other un-insured Tucson residents and am active in the local immigrant rights organizing network.