About
I am a Spanish-English bilingual, Latinx educator and researcher working at the intersection of language, society and schools.
I am Associate Professor of Language and (Bi)Literacy Education in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Georgia State University, where I teach courses on dual language education, language acquisition, and linguistically sustaining teaching.
For over twenty years, I have worked with bilingual learners and their teachers in Costa Rica and the United States.
The purpose of my scholarship and teaching praxis is to identify and remove the barriers experienced by linguistically diverse learners and their teachers.
Awards & Media Mentions
In 2015 I received the TESOL Leadership Mentoring Award. This honor is awarded to TESOL members who demonstrate potential to lead the organization. The TESOL Leadership Mentoring Award pairs selected individuals with TESOL leaders who mentor recipients throughout the year as they contribute their time and expertise to TESOL. Recipients are also invited to participate in TESOL’s Leadership Development Certificate Program.
In connection with my research in the area of language education, in Fall 2016 I was the recipient of an Erasmus+ Faculty Fellowship to teach at The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) in Poland. I visited KUL in May (2017) to give a series of lectures titled “Sociolinguistics and Education in Contexts of High Migration: A Comparative Perspective,” where I discussed the implications of various approaches to language education around the world. The Erasmus program, which is run by the European Commission, is one of the top higher education mobility programs in the world.
“A Spanish-English high school proves learning in two languages can boost graduation rates Educators believe teaching in two languages can be key to student success” The Henchinger Report. September 27, 2017.