In Memoriam: Laura Alicia Valdiviezo Arista (1969–2025)

Content

Dr. Laura Alicia Valdiviezo Arista, a distinguished scholar and passionate advocate for intercultural education, passed away on December 17, 2025 at the age of 56 surrounded by her family and loved ones in her house in Sunderland, Massachusetts. Born in Lima, Peru, on June 23, 1969, into a family with Quechua, African, and Hispanic roots, Laura dedicated her life to advancing educational equity and honoring cultural and linguistic diversity. Her work touched countless lives across continents, leaving an enduring legacy in the field of international and multicultural education.

Laura’s academic journey reflected her deep commitment to learning and justice. She earned her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2006, specializing in International Educational Development and Policy Studies. Her dissertation, The Construction of Interculturality: An Ethnography of Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices in Peruvian Quechua Schools, exemplified her lifelong dedication to indigenous knowledge and intercultural dialogue. Prior to her doctoral studies, Laura completed a Master of Education at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1996, and a Bachelor of Education at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in 1993, with a specialization in Philosophy and Social Sciences.

Fluent in Spanish, her native language, Laura also spoke Quechua, Portuguese, and Italian, embodying the multilingual and multicultural values she championed throughout her career. 

In 2007, Dr. Laura Valdiviezo started at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the College of Education as an Assistant Professor, earning Tenure and eventually the rank of Full Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies. During her distinguished career, she served as Department Chair from 2016 to 2019. In this role, she demonstrated courageous leadership during the Black Lives Matter movement bringing faculty, students, and staff together to think, dialogue, and act to ensure Black Lives and by extension all lives were valued and welcomed at the College of Education. Dr. Valdiviezo also served as the Director for the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies starting in September 2018. Her leadership extended beyond departmental boundaries, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and advancing scholarship on Latin American and Caribbean cultures. In 2021–2022, she was appointed a Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow at UMass Amherst, reflecting her dedication to institutional leadership and mentorship. Additionally, she served as the inaugural faculty fellow with the UMass Amherst Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research (CRJ), mentoring CRJ faculty directors and graduate students, as well as facilitating summer visits from multilingual international teachers and students interested in justice-centered teaching and social justice leadership development. 

Dr. Valdiviezo’s research was deeply rooted in her concern for multiculturalism and social justice, viewing schools as a space for reform and social transformation. In her own words, she drew from conceptualizations that emphasize “other knowledges and epistemologies from the South,” interrogating the social, economic, and political constructions that marginalize underserved communities, along with their languages, ethnicities, cultural practices, and ways of knowing. She conducted research with compassion and a deep value for community engagement and relationships, carrying out these commitments in a research collaborative composed of College of Education faculty and graduate students who partnered with the Ethnic Studies program in Holyoke Public Schools for six years. She inspired middle and high school educators to nurture criticality, linguistic diversity, and inclusion with and for their students.

Dr. Valdiviezo’s scholarship focused on bilingual and intercultural education, indigenous knowledge, and language policy, and she was widely recognized for her contributions to educational ethnography, serving as Editor-in-Chief of Anthropology & Education Quarterly from 2014 to 2019. In 2020, she assumed the role of Editor of the award-winning book series Language, Culture and Teaching, founded by her dear colleague UMass Amherst Professor Emeritus, Dr. Sonia Nieto. Dr. Valdiviezo’s service and outreach activities were integral to her mission of promoting multicultural and socially just education. Her public engagement involved collaboration with community stakeholders and public schools, while her university service emphasized peer and student mentoring, educator support, and youth leadership development. Dr. Valdiviezo was a humble and authentic professor who opened her home to her students. Her dedication, passion, and love for her students remained consistent until her very last breath.

An extension of her Indigenous and Buddhist spiritual beliefs, Laura valued relationships, particularly her sisterhood having been an active member of two vibrant local groups in Amherst. She was a dedicated participant in the Walking Divas, a group where women gather weekly to walk, promoting fitness and camaraderie. She was also part of Llegaron Las Mujeres, a community for Latinx/a women to connect, share experiences, dance, eat, and hang out. Laura was not shy of the microphone and would often sing along with the mariachi band. These groups provided a strong sense of community and support that Laura cherished.

Laura is preceded in death by her father, David Valdiviezo. She is survived by her beloved husband, Keith J. Payne; her cherished son, William Andrés Valdiviezo Payne; her mother, Martha Ofélia Arista; and her brothers, Luís Martin Valdiviezo and David Valdiviezo, along with his wife, Lucia French Vivanco; and her nephews Rodrigo Alonso and Martin Adrian.

Family and friends will host a celebration of life in August 2026.

Her wisdom, compassion, and advocacy deepened the Office of Faculty Development’s support of all faculty. The impacts of her work have and will endure long at UMass Amherst. I will greatly missLaura and her leadership in embracing cultural transformation. 

— Michelle J. Budig, Executive Deputy Provost

Professor Laura Valdiviezo was a wonderful colleague and a positive force on campus and beyond. Her deep commitment to social justice was inspiring and her legacy will be felt for years to come in the broader community. She will be deeply missed.

— Mari Castañeda, Dean, Commonwealth Honors College

[As previous department chair of TECS,] she led the department out of a tumultuous period and showed true leadership during the high point of the Black Lives Matter movement bringing faculty, students, and staff together to think, dialogue, and take action steps to make sure that Black Lives—and by extension all lives—were valued and welcomed at the College of Education. 

— Nat Turner, TECS Department Chair

Laura was a great friend, educator, and thoughtful campus leader. I know her spirit and legacy will live on through the impact of her compassionate community engagement work in Holyoke, her leadership of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies (CLACLS), and the many students and colleagues she mentored and loved. 

— Joseph Krupczynski, Director, Civic Engagement & Service Learning

Dr. Laura Valdiviezo was foundational to the creation of the university’s first center dedicated explicitly to racial justice and youth engaged research (i.e. CRJ). Through her leadership in CLACLS, sheshepherded the center’s first Youth Board cohort and Racial Healing collective composed of Black and Brown youth across the nation. Four years later, her enduring legacy of love as a profound act of social justice has been felt through direct mentorship of center leaders, guidance on community-engaged initiatives, and service for and with students, youth, and faculty. 

— Jamila Lyiscott and Keisha Green, co-directors for the Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research

Laura Valdiviezo was a part of a devoted trio of UMass professors who partnered with the Ethnic Studies program in Holyoke Public Schools, where she inspired 7–12 grade educators to nurture criticality, linguistic diversity, and inclusive classrooms with and for their students. 

— Kysa Nygreen, Keisha Green, and Joel Arce with doctoral candidate Dana Altshuler and Pa'lante Director of Development Danielle Hayes, of the Holyoke Ethnic Studies Research Team 

Laura's humility was exemplary, a quality that contributed to her leadership and mentorship. Her passion for others was displayed in her genuine interest in what people had to say. She always prioritized others' voices over her own, positioning everyone as teachers. She took time to build trust, often bringing people together to share a meal. Complete strangers would leave as friends, and it was Laura who was the reason.  

— Katie Lazdowski, program director, Institute for Training and Development  

Dr. Valdiviezo was a humble and authentic professor who even opened her home to her students. An academic, advisor, mentor, and educator, she never allowed circumstances to blur her commitment. She consistently encouraged her students to pause, recognize their accomplishments, and celebrate every step forward, remaining steadfast in her support. In each of them, she inspired a lasting drive to spread kindness, empathy, and a commitment to social justice throughout their careers. 

—Yokaira Lopez-Tifa, doctoral advisee