Faculty Profiles

I was born and raised in Havana City, Cuba, and immigrated to the US as a teenager. Our family settled in a suburb outside of Dallas, and I have lived in Texas since. Currently, I live in Austin, where I enjoy spending time in the outdoors—parks, hikes, and city walks. I love summers, museums, yoga, sharing meals with family and friends, and the arts broadly defined. My husband is my favorite thinking-partner.

Ph.D. in Sociology, Texas A&M University - College Station
M.A. in Sociology, Texas A&M University - College Station
B.S. in Sociology, University of North Texas
B.S. in Spanish, University of North Texas

My research interests are interdisciplinary, qualitative driven, and focus on culture. I have researched gentrification, Austin’s street art scene, urban farming, and student teaching and learning. More recently, I’ve been interested in arts-based methods, social settings that promote creativity, and the story of my Cubanness. My research has been published in journals such as City & Community, Humanity & Society, and Teaching Sociology.

Qualitative Methodologies
Arts-based Methodologies
Critical Methodologies
Culture
Creativity

ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1145-2320

My teaching philosophy is informed by critical and humanistic practices that share an affinity with feminists, anti-racists, postmodern, and post-colonial approaches. I encourage democratic participation in the classroom and always aim to create a dialogic space where the students and I, as a community of learners, can deepen socio-emotional awareness, criticality, curiosity, creativity, and play.

Popular Culture and Society
Qualitative Research Methods
Arts-based Research Methods
Social Inequalities
Sociological Theory