Tejiendo Identidades/Knitting Identities

Javier Dominguez   Javier Dominguez graduated with honors from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona and received both the Department Head Student Award and the Centurion Award. Since graduation, he works full-time with the United States Government and operates two businesses. One is Fast Prints USA, LLC, providing high-quality items to businesses all over the United States....

Edward Dennis The Boy from Mexico   Edward Dennis is a visual storyteller who has worked with companies such as Toyota and Disney. He wrote the children’s book “The Boy from Mexico”. He currently lives between Arizona and California. He hopes that children that look like him will be inspired by his art and story. Host:  Dr.  Nadia Alvarez , Ph. D. Teaching and Teacher Education Production and Engi...

Ana Isabel Cornide   Dr. Ana Isabel Cornide is a faculty member and researcher at the University of Arizona. She’s originally from Spain and her work has been recognized with multiple awards including the Richard Ruiz Diversity Leadership Faculty Award and the University’s 2022 Koffler Prize. Dr. Cornide’s outreach work promotes development through arts and humanities to serve as a means of overco...

  John Fung   John B. Fung is the Development Manager at Gospel Rescue Mission.  John began his career as an agent for the Allstate Insurance Company, then entered into the pharmaceutical and medical sales industry for the next 14 years. In 2014, John joined the University of Arizona Development Team and has raised millions of dollars for research, scholarships, and faculty support. In 2021, John...

Alex Lira   José Alejandro (Alex) Lira Carmona preserves and promotes the tapestry tradition of Huamantla, Tlaxcala. This art is a collective ephemeral in which he has actively participated all his life. He is recognized by the community as a Tapestry Master, a legacy from his father, the tapestry Master and artist José “Pepe” Lira. Alex Lira created Mexican Tapestry Artists, a civil society and c...

Melissa Dye   Melissa Dye is Senior Director of the American Heart Association in Southern Arizona. She was raised bi-nationally on the border of Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. She has a passion for philanthropy, helping important causes, binational relationships, and serving rural and culturally rich communities. Among many recognitions and awards, she recently received the prestigi...

Johanny Vázquez Paz   Johanny Vázquez Paz is from Puerto Rico. She is the winner of the Paz Prize for Poetry given by the National Poetry Series in partnership with the Miami Book Fair. Her winning manuscript, I Offer My Heart as a Target / Ofrezco mi Corazón Como una Diana, was published in a bilingual edition by Akashic Books. Among her other books are Sagrada Familia, winner of the Internationa...

Karla Bernal   Karla Bernal Morales serves as the Vice President for the Arizona Technology Council. In this role, Morales leads and oversees the Council’s Southern Arizona region which includes the responsibility for strategy, development, operations, support of policy development, business goals and objectives and financial matters, as well as recruiting and retaining members, securing sponsorsh...

Tucson Tome Gnome   Founded by three friends, the Tucson Tome Gnome strives to bolster a culture and community that is united in the joy of reading by hiding 30 free books per month around the community to inspire literacy, reading, and happiness. The three co-founders are Mary Ellen Flynn, Jody Hardy, and Emily Walsh.         Host: Dr. Nadia Alvarez , Ph. D. Teaching and Teacher Education Product...

Judy Marquez   Born in Tucson and raised in Mammoth, AZ on her family’s ranch, Dr. Judy Marquez Kiyama has been working alongside local LatinX families and communities throughout her career to understand how home and cultural knowledges shape college-going experiences. She currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development within the Office of Faculty Affairs and is a Professor...

Liliana Soto   Liliana Soto is an award-winning journalist and an Assistant Professor of Practice at the School of Journalism of the University of Arizona. She is also the Assistant Director for the school’s Bilingual Journalism Program and a freelance bilingual multimedia journalist. She has 10 years of experience in broadcast news in English and Spanish with a specialization in bilingual investi...

Corina Ontiveros   Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and an alum of New Mexico State University, Corina T. Ontiveros has resided in Arizona for more than 20 years, but goes back to her motherland often. She is a Master teacher in the Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Instruction program (CRPI) for the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) and has been a Principal in both K-4 and High School...

Lady Umbrella   Armando Felix and Irene Felix are from South Tucson, born and raised. They are the proud owners of Lady Umbrella, a community initiative in Tucson.  They started as food vendors and after some mishaps, they found themselves evolving into a market not only for vendors but for local organizations to offer spaces to talk, shop, eat, educate, and network.         Host: Dr. Nadia Alvare...

Czarina Nafarrete   Czarina Nafarrete is an Arizona native who grew up in Nogales, AZ. An avid storyteller, Czarina first came to Tucson to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Arizona and has called it home ever since. She is a copy editor by day and improviser at Tucson Improv Movement by night. She spends her days listening to true crime podcasts and begging for cuddles from her p...

Jesús Orduño   Jesús Orduño is a husband and a father. Professionally, Jesús is an educator and small business owner. He was born and raised in Tucson to immigrant parents and was the first in his family to get a college education, which led him to pursue a career in teaching Spanish at his alma mater, Pueblo High School. Jesús is now a curriculum service provider at Pueblo, as well as owner and o...

Raul Aguirre   Raul E. Aguirre is the President and CEO of REA Media Group.  Raul is  a progressive and innovative leader within the Latino community. With an in-depth knowledge and understanding of various nationalities, Mr. Aguirre is spearheading the Latino community.  Raul Aguirre is recognized as a national advocate for the inclusion of minorities in the field of market broadcasting as well a...

Felipe Garcia   Felipe Garcia is the President & CEO of Visit Tucson.  Felipe leads marketing efforts along with partnering with economic development and community organizations.         Host: Dr. Nadia Alvarez , Ph. D. Teaching and Teacher Education Production and Engineering:  Gwendoline Hernandez Nenny G of KXCI’s The Latin Connection Music:  Introducción al Danzón No. 2 – Danzón No. 2 by T...

Ricardo Morales   Ricardo Morales is a community leader and immigration specialist in Tucson.  Ricardo believes “Life is what one day we dreamed of being.”

Elena Centeno   Dra. Elena Centeno is a professional researcher, educator and international scholar. She is also coordinating the Tucson office of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM).  The prestigious Milenio magazine of Mexico featured her personal and professional journey.         Host: Dr. Nadia Alvarez , Ph. D. Teaching and Teacher Education Production and Engineering:  Gwendoli...

Monica Velasco   Mónica Velasco says “I love to share with my community and teach my children new abilities so they can transmit them just like my mom did to me.  ”Mónica Velasco comenta “Me encanta compartir con mi comunidad y enseñarle a mis hijos nuevas habilidades para que ellos puedan transmitirlas igual que mi madre lo hizo conmigo”.

Kate Alexander   Originally from California, Kate Alexander moved to Tucson to join the faculty of the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona. She is an educator, ethnomusicologist, and bird enthusiast.         Host: Dr. Nadia Alvarez , Ph. D. Teaching and Teacher Education Production and Engineering:  Gwendoline Hernandez Nenny G of KXCI’s The Latin Connection Music:  Introducció...

Sandra Bernal   Dr. Sandra Bernal from Mexico City affirms that “The advantage of still looking for the place where I belong is that I’m always doing my best, just in case this is the one. I’m a heart with a brain and two hands that keep knocking on bigger and bigger doors. Most of them have opened up; the rest will do soon”.

Felisia J Tagaban   Felisia J. Tagaban (Diné/Tlingit/Filipino) is a doctoral student in the Educational Policy Studies and Practice Department at the University of Arizona (UA).  Felisia holds Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and a Master of Arts in Higher Education degrees from the UA.  Felisia serves as Student Relations Coordinator for UA Admissions and the College of Education in partnersh...

JJ Arevalo   JJ Arévalo is an extraordinary musician.  He/Him/Él.  “Since I am from the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, I will also add: Ese/Vato”. – JJ

Ayla Kapahi   Ayla Kapahi is the Director of Production and the Head Brewer for Borderlands Brewing Company. She’s Tucson’s first female head brewer and is an advocate for women and minorities in the craft beer industry. She opened Arizona’s first all-female production facility in 2018 and co-led Las Hermanas project, Arizona’s first US-Mexico binational women’s brew.  Ayla says “Craft beer is abo...