Meet the People of CLACLS

Director

Image

Patricia Gubitosi, PhD
Acting Director, Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies Center   

Patricia is a Professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and currently serves as Acting Director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies (CLACLS). Her research centers on social bilingualism, language contact, and linguistic identity, with a particular focus on Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking minority communities across the Commonwealth and New York State 

Executive Board 

The Executive Board is an interdisciplinary committee composed of affiliated faculty from across the University, including representatives from the University Libraries. The Board advises the Director of the Center on matters related to the mission, vision, and strategic direction of CLACLS. 

Bank Muñoz, Carolina 
Sociology 
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
cbank [dot] munoz [at] umass [dot] edu (cbank[dot]munoz[at]umass[dot]edu)  

Distefano, Marialuisa 
UMass Amherst Bilingual Hub
College of Education 
marialuisadi [at] umass [dot] edu (marialuisadi[at]umass[dot]edu)  

Espinal, Isabel 
University Libraries 
iespinal [at] umass [dot] edu (iespinal[at]umass[dot]edu)  

Gonzales-Backen, Melinda 
Psychological and Brain Sciences 
College of Natural Sciences
mgonzalesbac [at] umass [dot] edu (mgonzalesbac[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Lopez Cevallos, Daniel
Public Health 
School of Public Health and Health Sciences
dlopezcevall [at] umass [dot] edu (dlopezcevall[at]umass[dot]edu)  

Advisory Board 

The Advisory Board is composed of members from the broader community who serve as a liaison between CLACLS and community stakeholders. The Board provides insight, perspective, and guidance to support the Center’s engagement with community partners and initiatives. 

For the current year, members of the Advisory Board include: 

Manuel Figueroa-Ramos
Vice Director, Holyoke Public Library 

Iohann Rashi Vega
Director of Media Engagement, Holyoke Media 

Staff 

Image

Ericka Duncan
Program Manager, Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies Center   

Ericka recently joined CLACLS as Program Manager. With 20 years in higher education, she has led innovative academic and cultural initiatives across Latin America and the U.S. Originally from Colombia, Ericka is passionate about fostering global awareness, supporting students, and building collaborations that highlight Latin American and Caribbean cultures. 

Affiliated Faculty (in alphabetical order)

Alejandro, Roberto 
Department: Political Science 
ralejand [at] polsci [dot] umass [dot] edu (ralejand[at]polsci[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Amaral, Luiz 
Department: Languages, Literatures and Cultures 
amaral [at] umass [dot] edu (amaral[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Arnold, Lynnette 
Department: Anthropology 
larnold [at] umass [dot] edu (larnold[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Austin, Theresa 
Department: Education 
taustin [at] educ [dot] umass [dot] edu (taustin[at]educ[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Axelrod, Ysaaca 
Department: Education 
yaxelrod [at] educ [dot] umass [dot] edu (yaxelrod[at]educ[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Banks, Carolina 
Department: Sociology 
cbank [dot] munoz [at] umass [dot] edu (cbank[dot]munoz[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Barbon, Maria 
Department: Languages, Literatures and Cultures 
mbarbon [at] complit [dot] umass [dot] edu (mbarbon[at]complit[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Bernal, Angelica M. 
Department: Political Science 
abernal [at] polsci [dot] umass [dot] edu (abernal[at]polsci[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Castañeda, Mari 
Department: Honors College 
mari [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (mari[at]comm[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Correa, Ellen 
Department: Communications 
ecorrea [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (ecorrea[at]comm[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Di Stefano, Maria Luisa 
Department: Education 
marialuisadi [at] umass [dot] edu (marialuisadi[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Espinal, Isabel 
Department: University Libraries 
iespinal [at] umass [dot] edu (iespinal[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Fernandez, Stephen 
Department: Engineering 
spfernandez [at] umass [dot] edu (spfernandez[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Fetta, Stephanie 
Department: Languages, Literatures and Cultures 
sfetta [at] umass [dot] edu (sfetta[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Fuentes-Bautista, Martha 
Department: Communications 
mfuentes [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (mfuentes[at]comm[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Galasso, Regina 
Department: Languages, Literatures and Cultures 
rgalasso [at] complit [dot] umass [dot] edu (rgalasso[at]complit[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

García, Monica 
Department: STPEC 
mmgarcia [at] umass [dot] edu (mmgarcia[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Gomez, Ximena 
Department: History of Art 
xgomez [at] umass [dot] edu (xgomez[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Gonzales-Backen, Melinda 
Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences 
mgonzalesbac [at] umass [dot] edu (mgonzalesbac[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Goldfajn, Tal 
Department: Languages, Literatures and Cultures 
tgoldfajn [at] umass [dot] edu (tgoldfajn[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Green, Keisha 
Department: Education 
klgreen [at] educ [dot] umass [dot] edu (klgreen[at]educ[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Gubitosi, Patricia 
Department: Languages, Literatures and Cultures 
gubitosi [at] hfa [dot] umass [dot] edu (gubitosi[at]hfa[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Hunter, Martin 
Department: Engineering 
martinhunter [at] umass [dot] edu (martinhunter[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Krupczynski, Joseph 
Department: Civic Engagement 
josephk [at] art [dot] umass [dot] edu (josephk[at]art[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Lao-Montes, Agustín 
Department: Sociology 
lao [at] soc [dot] umass [dot] edu (lao[at]soc[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Lopez Cevallos, Daniel 
Department: Public Health 
dlopezcevall [at] umass [dot] edu (dlopezcevall[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Martinez, Airin 
Department: Public Health 
admartinez [at] umass [dot] edu (admartinez[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Moreira, Claudio 
Department: Communications 
cmoreira [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (cmoreira[at]comm[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Nygreen, Kysa 
Department: Education 
knygreen [at] umass [dot] edu (knygreen[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Perez, Kimberlee 
Department: Communications 
kimperez [at] comm [dot] umass [dot] edu (kimperez[at]comm[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Perez, Ventura 
Department: Anthropology 
vrperez [at] anthro [dot] umass [dot] edu (vrperez[at]anthro[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Salles, Felipe 
Department: Music 
fsalles [at] music [dot] umass [dot] edu (fsalles[at]music[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Sandler, Jen 
Department: Anthropology 
jsandler [at] anthro [dot] umass [dot] edu (jsandler[at]anthro[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Scott, Heidi 
Department: History 
hvscott [at] history [dot] umass [dot] edu (hvscott[at]history[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Shaw, Susan 
Department: Public Health 
sjshaw [at] umass [dot] edu (sjshaw[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Villanueva Montalvo, Aida 
Department: Sociology 
avillanuevam [at] umass [dot] edu (avillanuevam[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Young, Kevin A. 
Department: History 
kevinlyoung [at] polsci [dot] umass [dot] edu (kevinlyoung[at]polsci[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Zuñiga, Ximena 
Department: Education 
xzuniga [at] educ [dot] umass [dot] edu (xzuniga[at]educ[dot]umass[dot]edu) 

Graduate Students 

Cevallos Vaca, Anahi 
Department: Language, Literatures and Cultures 
dcevallosvac [at] umass [dot] edu (cevallosvac[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Campana Zapata, Alexandre 
Department: Language, Literatures and Cultures 
lcampana [at] umass [dot] edu (lcampana[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Mariana Pinto Alvarez 
Doctoral Candidate, Community Health Education, School of Public Health & Health Sciences 
mpintoalvare [at] umass [dot] edu (mpintoalvare[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Carol Pinzón Masmela 
Ph.D. Student, Department of Anthropology, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences 
cpinzonmasme [at] umass [dot] edu (cpinzonmasme[at]umass[dot]edu)

Gerardo Zelaya 
Ph.D. Student, Language, Literacy & Cultures, School of Education 
gzelaya [at] umass [dot] edu (gzelaya[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Eliana Mercedes
Ph.D. Student, Sociology 
emercedes [at] umass [dot] edu (emercedes[at]umass[dot]edu)  

Alexandre Alves Santos
Ph.D. Student, Hispanic Literatures and Linguistics
alexandresan [at] umass [dot] edu (alexandresan[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Maria Portilla Moya  
Ph.D. Candidate (ABD), History 
mportilla [at] umass [dot] edu (mportilla[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Maria Camila Vera Arias 
Ph.D. Student Hispanic Literatures and Linguistics 
mveraarias [at] umass [dot] edu (mveraarias[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Giovanny Salas Torres 
Ph.D. Student Hispanic Literatures and Linguistics 
gsalastorres [at] umass [dot] edu (gsalastorres[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Yokaira Lopez-Tifa 
Ph.D. Student - Education 
ylopeztifa [at] umass [dot] edu (ylopeztifa[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Liliam Fiallo 
Ph.D. Student, Political Sciences  
lfiallomoned [at] umass [dot] edu (lfiallomoned[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Karla Giorgio 
Ph.D. Student Hispanic Literatures and Linguistics 
kgiorgio [at] umass [dot] edu (kgiorgio[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Undergraduate Students 

Undergraduate Interns   

Image

Stacy Infante
sinfante [at] umass [dot] edu (sinfante[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Stacy is a freshman at UMass Amherst double majoring in Legal Studies and Film. She is Dominican and multilingual, and she is passionate about promoting equity and representation within the entertainment industry. When she is not studying or working at her internship with CLACLS, she loves spending her time reading, playing the guitar, and creating ceramic pieces.  

Image

Sara Hodgkiss
shodgkiss [at] umass [dot] edu (shodgkiss[at]umass[dot]edu) 

Sarah is Brazilian and has lived in the U.S. for more than 9 years. Currently, she is a sophomore who has a passion for filmmaking, drawing, and everything in between. In the hours when she is not working, she is sketching her imagination away.