Dr. Jessica Solyom
Associate Research Professor
School of Social Transformation
Arizona State University

Jessica Solyom, Ph.D., received her doctorate in Justice and Social Inquiry from Arizona State University. She has worked in research, program development, and program evaluation for postsecondary institutions in promoting diversity in curriculum, pedagogy, and classroom management for over 10 years. Her research focuses on diversity, belonging, and justice. Her scholarly publications have explored the justice-related struggles of historically underrepresented students including explorations of race and gender in student leadership, persistence for students of color in predominantly white postsecondary settings, and education rights activism among Indigenous college students. She is currently an Associate Research Professor and teaches courses on Research and Inquiry, Critical Race Theory, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Dr. Solyom serves as a mentor at the Center for Indian Education (ASU) in preparing and training rising students of color as community embedded researchers and servant-leaders.

Nicholas Bustamante
J.D./Ph.D. Student
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
School of Social Transformation

Nicholas is a current joint law and doctoral student in Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University. He has worked in research focused on the school to prison pipeline in Arizona for Native, Latino, and African American Students. In 2017-2018 he co-developed a critical legal studies program for first generation students interested in a legal career. Scholarly publications have focused on critical race theory, education, ethnic studies and Indigeneity. His doctoral research focuses on surveillance technologies and privacy rights for communities in the southwestern borderlands. Nicholas also volunteers at local immigration initiatives.

Dr. Lisa Magaña
Associate Director and Professor
School of Transborder Studies
Arizona State University

Lisa Magaña is a professor and associate director of the School of Transborder Studies. Her research focuses on traditional and non-traditional political engagement, including electoral politics, grassroots organizing, immigration dynamics and transnational political movements. She has published in the area of immigration, Latino politics and Latino public policy issues and is the author of the books, "Straddling the Border" (University of Texas Press) and "The Politics of Diversity" (University of Arizona Press) and co-editor with Erik Lee, "Latino Politics and Arizona's Immigration Law SB 1070" (Springer Press). Magana also published a textbok entitled "Arizona, Immigration, Latinos and Politics" (Kendall Hunt). She recently completed another manuscript "From A to Z, Latino Politics and Immigration in Arizona" that is currently being revised. Professor Magana has been a research associate at the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute and visiting lecturer and assistant professor at Pitzer College, University of California-Los Angeles, California State University at Dominguez Hills and Williams College. She has been interviewed on NPR, the BBC, PBS, Associated Press, MSNBC and other media outlets.

James E. Garcia
Journalist and Playwright

James E. Garcia is a Phoenix-based journalist, playwright and communications consultant. He is the editor and publisher of Vanguardia Arizona, which covers Latino news statewide, and the weekly newsletter Vanguardia America. As a journalist, he has worked as a reporter, columnist, editor and foreign correspondent. He was the first Latino Affairs correspondent for KJZZ, and the first Latino editor of major progressive news weekly in the U.S., The San Antonio Current. James has taught writing, ethnic studies, theater and Latino politics at ASU. He is the producing artistic director of New Carpa Theater Co. and the author of more than 30 plays.

Brenda Mora-Castillo
Graduate Student
School of Transborder Studies
Arizona State University