I am a cultural anthropologist whose scholarship is shaped by social justice, community, and service. My research explores grassroots responses to sanctuary policies, detention, and community care in the Inland Empire. My other interests include citizenship and belonging, accompaniment, and abolition.

Currently, I am a UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Riverside in the Department of Ethnic Studies. I previously held an American Council of Learned Societies Emerging Voices Fellowship at UC Davis’s Global Migration Center. I am also a former National Science Foundation Fellow.

I have a deep commitment to the mentorship of first-generation students. I have facilitated various mentoring programs and spaces striving to make academia more legible. I also co-created the Mapping Academia Series hosted by ALLA, which was a virtual intergenerational space to mentor graduate students nationwide.

I also am invested in public scholarship. I have led community-art projects, organized public conferences, and educational events to discuss issues such as migration, detention, and mentorship. In addition to my academic endeavors, I am a Mexican folklorico dancer with more than 25 years of dance experience. I have danced professionally with Grandeza Mexicana and Pacifico Dance Company.