About

Historian. I am a historian committed to public scholarship and aim to research and write accessible histories of value to the general public. Broadly, my research focuses on the intersections of community history, comparative ethnic studies, material culture, and popular culture. I am an expert on the history of the US toy industry, and am currently working on a book manuscript based on my doctoral dissertation about ethnic imagery in US toys. I am a founding member of the board of the National Institute of Mexican American History of Civil Rights. Additionally, I have taught courses in public history, Mexican American history, US history, material culture, and more at Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio College, and the University of Michigan. Details can be found in my CV.

Curator. I am currently the Director of the Museo del Westside, a community participatory museum that is is a project of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. My essay “A Field Guide to Westside Vernacular Architeture,” will be published in Vernacular Architecture of San Antonio and its Environs in 2020 by Texas A&M Press. I was formerly Lead Curatorial Researcher at the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, TX where I curated over a dozen exhibitions on history, art, and culture and manage the Oral History Program of over 1,000 oral histories. I offer workshops on oral history for university students, secondary school teachers, and university professors, and regularly speak to print, digital, radio, and television news sources about Texas and US history and culture. A selection of exhibit images and related press clippings can be found in my portfolio.

Preservationist. I am co-founder and co-chair of Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC), a national organization that promotes historic preservation within American Latino communities and advocates for the protection of American Latino heritage at local, state, and national levels. As LHC's communications chair I also design and edit La Herencia, LHC's e-newsletter. In addition, I serve on the boards of El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association, an organization that promotes knowledge, appreciation, and preservation of this historic trail, and the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission, the fundraising arm of our state historic preservation office. I am an active member of the Westside Preservation Alliance, a coalition dedicated to promoting and preserving the working-class architecture of San Antonio's historic Westside. My article “Latinos in Heritage Conservation: Establishing a National Vision for American Latinos and Historic Preservation” was published by the University of Massachusetts Press in 2016.

I received a BA in American Studies from Smith College and an MA and PhD in American Culture from the University of Michigan. I am a former fellow at the National Museum of American History, the Winterthur Museum, and the American Antiquarian Society, and am a National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) Leadership Institute alumna.