Stacey recently successfully defended her PhD dissertation entitled, “Resisting Erasure: Undocumented Latinx Narratives.”  In her research she analyzes how undocumented Latinx narratives across theater, memoir, comics, and music build networks of support and call on audiences to imagine new social realities. 

In addition to her research, while at OSU she has been highly involved in initiatives which support the cultural expression as well as academic and political needs of Latinx populations in Columbus.  She has served as:

• A committee member of the annual Día de los Muertos event organized by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese;
• A mentor in Dr. Frederick Aldama´s Latin American Spaces for Engagement and Research (LASER) mentoring program;
• A co-deviser in Dr. Paloma Martinez-Cruz and Dr. Ana Elena Puga’s Be The Street theater program at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Center;
• A co-facilitator alongside Dr. Anna Babel of the BuckIDream working group, which supports students with DACA and undocumented status
• A co-organizer of the first Heritage Language Summit for the Center for Language, Literatures, and Cultures
• A co-author with Dr. Elena Foulis of an open-access digital textbook for Spanish as a heritage language focusing on Midwestern experiences.  It is called Mi idioma, mi comunidad: español para bilingües

When asked why she values Latin American Studies, Stacey told us, “Latin American Studies is crucial for understanding the complex, diverse, and often contradictory histories and perspectives that have always been central to the US sociocultural, economic, and political landscapes.” 

This fall, she will join Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa as an assistant professor of Spanish. ¡Felicidades, Stacey!  We wish you the best as you continue to use your research and service to support social justice!