Meet the ILS 25th Anniversary Speakers!
We have an exciting line up for you! Click on each speaker to learn more.
About Maceo
Maceo Montoya is an author and visual artist who has published books in a variety of genres, including four works of fiction: The Scoundrel and the Optimist, The Deportation of Wopper Barraza, You Must Fight Them, and Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces. Montoya has also published two works of nonfiction: Letters to the Poet from His Brother, a hybrid book combining images, prose poems, and essays, and Chicano Movement for Beginners, which he both wrote and illustrated. Montoya is a professor of Chicana/o Studies and English at the University of California, Davis, and editor of the literary magazine Huizache.
Brenda Cárdenas
Author and Poet
About Brenda
Brenda Cárdenas is the author of Trace (Red Hen Press, 2023), winner of the 2023 Society of Midland Authors Poetry Award and silver winner of the 2023 Foreword Review Indie Poetry Award. Other works include the chapbooks Bread of the Earth/The Last Colors, Achiote Seeds/Semillas de Achiote, and From the Tongues of Brick and Stone. She also co-edited Resist Much/Obey Little: Inaugural Poems to the Resistance and Between the Heart and the Land: Latina Poets in the Midwest, which won the Chicago Women in Publishing first place award for excellence in editing. Her poems and essays have been widely published in anthologies and journals like POETRY, Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, Latinx Poetics: The Art of Poetry, The Wind Shifts and many others.
Cárdenas enjoys inter-arts projects with musicians, visual artists, and choreographers. In 2023, her poem “Poema para los Tin-Tu-Teros” was set to choral music by composer Daniel Afonso and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2024. She’s also worked with artist Cynthia Lollis on Mind the Gap, an ekphrastic print/poem portfolio, and contributed to multimedia projects like the spoken word and music CD Chicano, Illnoize: The Blue Island Sessions with Sonido Ink (quieto). Her poem “Song” was animated in 2009 as part of the Poetry Everywhere series, and her poem “Sonnet for Thunder Lovers and Primary Colors” was choreographed in 2008 by Kelly Anderson for DanceWorks Performance Company.
About Emiliano
Emiliano Aguilar is a political and labor historian of the United States, specializing in the Latina/o Midwest. His current manuscript-in-progress, Building a Latino Machine: Caught Between Corrupt Political Machines and Good Government Reform, investigates how East Chicago’s Mexican and Puerto Rican communities navigated political machines throughout the 20th and 21st centuries to further their inclusion in municipal and union politics. The project also reflects on the paradoxes of inclusion for residents and reforms as they negotiated their roles in the city amidst urban renewal and deindustrialization.
Aguilar’s work has appeared in The Metropole, Belt Magazine, the Immigration and Ethnic History Society’s Blog, the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History, and the Indiana Historical Society Blog, among others. A chapter of his research appeared in Building Sustainable Worlds: Latinx Placemaking in the Midwest (University of Illinois Press, July 2022). He has taught courses such as “Latina/o Civil Rights Movement,” which examines the long struggle for civil rights by Latinas and Latinos through strikes, unionization, and educational reform, and “U.S. Latina/o History,” which focuses on the demographic, social, and political trends shaping Latino experiences since 1848, with a special focus on Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans in the Midwest. These courses allow students to explore how Latinos have shaped, and continue to influence, the broader currents of American history.
'01Dr. Carlos Gomez Meade
Surgeon
About Dr. Carlos Gomez
Dr. Carlos Gomez Meade ‘01 is originally from Brownsville, Texas. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame he returned to Texas for his medical degree. After medical school, he completed two residencies and a surgical fellowship in Florida and now practices as a skin cancer and reconstructive surgeon and specializes in cutaneous oncology at his private practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he lives with his wife and three children. Carlos was elected to the Hispanic Alumni Board of ND in 2023 and serves as Director of Alumni Relations.
'00Kelly Salazar
Attorney
About Kelly
Kelly Salazar ‘00 holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology from Notre Dame, where she made the Dean’s Honor List and captained the cheerleading team. She earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Baylor Law School in 2003, also making the Dean’s Honor List and participating in the ATLA Mock Trial Team and the Harvey M. Richey Moot Court Society. Licensed by the State of Texas since 2003, she currently serves as president of the Hidalgo County Bar Association and president-elect of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, in addition to her role on the City of Edinburg Landfill Advisory Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Linebarger in 2012, Ms. Salazar was a sole practitioner, focusing on the areas of criminal, family, and personal injury law. As a capital partner at Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP, Ms. Salazar’s legal practice focuses on the collection of government receivables for counties, cities, and school districts. Ms. Salazar is a native of the Rio Grande Valley and is an avid runner. She is married to Gerardo Salazar and they have two daughters, Stella Isla and Sloan Delmar.
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'04Gregorio Arimany
Corporate Executive
About Gregorio
Gregorio Arimany ‘04 is a distinguished finance professional with a dynamic career spanning corporate development and investment banking across sectors such as education, telecom, and renewable energy. Raised in Guatemala, Gregor's international perspective and deep understanding of regional markets have greatly influenced his professional journey. As the current Head of Corporate Development for Latin America at Nord Anglia Education—the world’s leading premium international schools organization—Gregor has played a pivotal role in expanding the company’s global footprint. Before transitioning to finance, Gregor built a solid foundation in civil and structural engineering at AECOM, a Fortune 500 company. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
Outside of his professional achievements, Gregor is a passionate musician who enjoys playing piano and drums. He resides in Miami with his wife and two young daughters, where he balances a fulfilling career with a vibrant family life.
'09Sandra Garcia
People & Culture Director
About Sandra
Sandra Garcia ‘09 earned her Bachelor’s from Notre Dame in 2009, double majoring in Accounting and Psychology. She went on to graduate summa cum laude with an MBA from Purdue Global University in March 2023. Sandra’s family is from Mexico, who migrated to Chicago a few months before she was born. Upon graduation, Sandra developed a strong operational background while serving as the District Manager for Aldi, Inc. for seven years where she oversaw five stores in Indiana. In 2015, Sandra joined the Notre Dame Human Resources Department as a consultant, focusing on performance management and employee relations. She later became Director of Retail Dining within Campus Dining, overseeing 16 food establishments, including launching Chick-fil-A and introducing delivery robots on campus.
Sandra’s entrepreneurial spirit helped her family to open and operate Los Aces Mexican
Restaurant in South Bend starting in 2016. Eventually, the brand was sold but she stayed as
a Managing Consultant until June 2021. She is also deeply involved in mission-driven work, serving on the boards of La Casa De Amistad and Chicago Scholars. Since December 2022, Sandra has led people and culture at Boys and Girls Clubs of the Northern Indiana Corridor. Sandra lives in Granger, IN with her husband George West and their two children, Tre and Addy, as well as their puppy, Luna.
'06Blanca Ibarra
Educator
About Blanca
Blanca Ibarra ‘06 was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas to Mexican immigrant parents. She is a first-generation college graduate. She earned a degree in Spanish with minors in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from the University of Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, Blanca found her voice through enriching courses and various
student groups. Her involvement with La Casa de Amistad awakened an interest in
working with youth. She also held leadership roles in M.E.Ch.A, Coro Primavera and La Alianza. She participated in various seminars organized by the Center for Social Concerns and the Institute for Latino Studies such as the Mexico Seminar, Urban Plunge, Border Issues, Sueños Sin Fronteras and the Hispanic Leadership Intern Project.
Blanca went on to complete her master’s degree in School Counseling from Texas Wesleyan University. Currently, she is a dedicated bilingual counselor with the Fort Worth Independent School District. She has served as a mentor and volunteer with the Latinas in Progress program for the past five years. The LIP program plans college visits and workshops for Latina high school seniors and their parents with the goal of assisting these families in the transition to college. Her involvement in LIP highlights her passion for mentorship and community engagement. Blanca is a seasoned advocate for mental health and education with over eighteen years of experience in serving Spanish speaking communities. Her journey is a testament to her resilience, dedication, and passion for making a positive impact in the lives of others.
Paloma Garcia-Lopez
Associate Director, Institute for Latino Studies
About Paloma
Paloma Garcia-Lopez is the associate director of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where she oversees all activities and staff. Garcia-Lopez focuses on enhancing annual programming, special events, communications, fundraising, and budgeting. She is a central figure in the development of a strategic plan to support scholarly initiatives in Latino Studies as a key component of Notre Dame’s academic mission. Paloma Garcia-Lopez was awarded the inaugural Presidential Achievement Award for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at Notre Dame in 2022.
Paloma brings to Notre Dame a fifteen year track record of success in nonprofit management, fundraising, and executive coaching of leaders of community benefit organizations. She previously served as the inaugural executive director of the Maker Education Initiative. Preceding her work at Makered, Garcia-Lopez served as director of the Posse Foundation site in Washington, D.C., a national college access and leadership development organization recognized by President Obama and the Catalogue for Philanthropy. She started her career in nonprofit management as the development director of Future Leaders of America, Inc., the country's premier Latino youth leadership organization.
Currently, Paloma serves on the board of the Community Science Workshop Network, Future Leaders of America - East Bay Chapter, and the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership. In 2021, she joined the Advisory Council of the Indiana chapter of Proteus, Inc. Garcia-Lopez is a graduate of Stanford University and the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Paloma is married to Dr. Lopez, a Neurologist, and has three children, Joaquin ND '27, Mia, and Melody.
Jason Ruiz
Professor and Chair of American Studies
About Jason
Jason Ruiz is Professor and Chair of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he is affiliated faculty with the Program in Gender Studies and the Institute for Latino Studies. He teaches courses in Latinx studies, race and representation, queer studies, and popular culture. He is the author of Americans in the Treasure House: Travel to Porfirian Mexico and the Cultural Politics of Empire and Narcomedia: Latinidad, Popular Culture, and America’s War on Drugs (both from the University of Texas Press, 2014 and 2023, respectively). He is also the principal investigator of Latinx Murals of Pilsen, a digital research project devoted to public art in Chicago supported by the Whiting Foundation. Ruiz is a 2016 recipient of the Edmund P. Joyce Award and 2019 Charles B. Sheedy Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at Notre Dame.
Ricardo Ramirez
Associate Professor of Political Science
About Ricardo
Ricardo Ramirez is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. He is the director of the Hesburgh Program in Public Service and a faculty fellow in the Institute for Latino Studies. He is past President of the Western Political Science Association (WPSA). He received his B.A., cum laude, from UCLA and his Ph.D in Political Science from Stanford University. His broad research interests include political behavior, state and local politics, the politics of race and ethnicity, and immigrant politics. His research is geared to understanding the transformation of civic and political participation in American democracy by focusing on the effects of political context on participation, the political mobilization of and outreach to Latino immigrants and other minority groups, and the causes and consequences of increasing diversity among elected officials.
He is Principal Investigator of The National Latino Legislative Database Project, the most comprehensive, longitudinal data of local, state, and federal Latina and Latino elected officials from 1990 to 2020. His recent publications include Latinos and the 2016 Election: Latino Resistance and the Election of Donald Trump (Michigan State University Press 2020), Mobilizing Opportunities: The Evolving Latino Electorate and the Future of American Politics (University of Virginia Press 2013), “Unlinking fate? Discrimination, Group-consciousness, and Political Participation among Latinos and Whites,” “Selective Recruitment or Voter Neglect? Race, Place, and Voter Mobilization in 2016.”
Anne García-Romero
Professor of Film, Television & Theatre
About Anne
Anne García-Romero is a professor of film, television, and theatre who specializes in playwriting, screenwriting, and Latinx theatre studies. She is affiliated faculty with the Institute for Latino Studies, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies. She has written a number of plays including Paloma (Broadway Play Publishing, 2017), a National Latino Playwriting Award runner-up, and her plays have been developed and produced through groups including the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. She has also written for Peninsula Films, Elysian Films, and Disney Creative Entertainment.
García-Romero is a founding member of Latinx Theatre Commons, and is an alumna of Chicago Dramatists and the New Dramatists in New York City. She has also been a Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights Center of Minneapolis and a MacDowell Colony fellow. She is also the coordinator of the Fornés Playwriting Workshop in Chicago, sponsored by the University of Notre Dame.
'76, '83 M. DivRev. Joseph Corpora
Holy Cross Priest
About Fr. Joe
Rev. Joseph V. Corpora, C.S.C., serves as the Associate Director of the Transformational Leaders Program (TLP) at Notre Dame. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1976 and entered the Moreau Seminary in 1977. He was ordained a priest in 1984. Since returning to his alma mater in 2009, Fr. Joe has worked in ACE and Campus Ministry. He currently works with first generation, low income students at Notre Dame in the TLP. In 2016, Pope Francis appointed Father Joe to serve the Church as a Missionary of Mercy. Father Joe will be presiding the Memorial Mass for Nacho Lozano on Friday, September 27th.
Philip Fuentes
Owner & Operator McDonalds, CHBIP Management, Inc., Chicago, Illinois,
About Philip
Philip Fuentes is the owner and operator of McDonald’s under CHBIP Management, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, where he has served as Chair since 2010. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), representing the City of Chicago. His leadership and community contributions have earned him recognition, including the Ronald McDonald Award and two presidential citations from the Town of Cicero. In 2005, he was named Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the Cicero Chamber of Commerce.
Active in civic and professional organizations, he sits on the board of the Rotary One Club and serves as Chairman of the McDonald’s Hispanic Operators Association, as well as the ILS Advisory Council. He holds an MBA from Dominican University and a BA in Business Administration and Economics from Northeastern University. He resides in Chicago with his wife and their two children.
Luis R. Fraga
Director, Institute for Latino Studies
About Luis
Luis Ricardo Fraga is the Rev. Donald P. McNeill, C.S.C., Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership and Director of the Institute for Latino Studies. A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Fraga specializes in Latino politics, voting rights, immigration, and education, with an extensive publication record, including six books and over forty scholarly articles. His contributions to Latino political analysis, such as co-editing Latinos and the 2016 Election: Latino Resistance and the Election of Donald Trump, reflect his broad influence in American political science.
Throughout his career, Fraga has earned numerous accolades for his academic work and public service. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and has held leadership roles within the American Political Science Association. Fraga has also been deeply involved in advocating for Latino communities through initiatives like the Latino Studies Scholars Program at Notre Dame and establishing the first Spanish-English, two-way immersion Catholic school in South Bend, Indiana. His dedication has earned him awards such as the Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Community Service from MALDEF and over $8M in fundraising for the Institute for Latino Studies.
Timothy Matovina
Professor of Theology
About Timothy
Timothy Matovina works in the area of Faith and Culture, with specialization in U.S. Catholic and U.S. Latino theology and religion. Professor Matovina has authored over 150 essays and reviews in scholarly and opinion journals. He has also written or edited 20 books, most recently Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America’s Largest Church, which won five book awards, including selection as a CHOICE “Outstanding Academic Title,” as well as Theologies of Guadalupe: From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis. Among his various scholarly awards, in 2010 Matovina received the Virgilio Elizondo Award “for distinguished achievement in theology, in keeping with the mission of the Academy” from the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). At Notre Dame he has won two teaching awards, including the Julian Samora Award that members of Notre Dame’s La Alianza student organization confer on a faculty member whose research, teaching, and service advance knowledge and empowerment of Latino/a students and communities. In addition to his scholarly work, Matovina offers presentations and workshops on U.S. Catholicism and Latino ministry and theology throughout the United States.
'72 M.A., '77 Ph.DGilberto Cárdenas
Professor Emeritus, Sociology
About Gilberto
Gilberto Cárdenas, born in 1947 in Los Angeles and raised in San Gabriel, CA, is a
retired Professor Emeritus now residing in Austin, TX. He earned degrees from
ELA College and California State University (AA and BA) before completing his MA
and PhD in sociology at the University of Notre Dame, mentored by Professor
Julian Samora. At Notre Dame, he served as Assistant Provost, founded the
Institute for Latino Studies in 1999, and the Notre Dame Center for Arts and
Culture in 2012, holding the Julian Samora Chair in Latino Studies until 2012.
Cárdenas also taught at the University of Texas at Austin (1975-1999) and was the
Executive Director for the Inter-University Program for Latino Research (1995-
2013), a consortium of 25 centers and institutes. An acclaimed scholar in Mexican
immigration, he has been recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the
100 most influential Latinos in the U.S., authoring numerous works on migration,
economy, and race. Cárdenas founded Galería Sin Fronteras in 1986, amassing a
significant private collection of Latino art. While at the University of Texas he
produced Latino USA at it’s inception. Throughout his life he’s had the privilege to
serve on numerous boards, including the National Museum of the American
Latino, the National Hispanic Cultural Museum, and The Smithsonian, and was
instrumental in proposing the Smithsonian Latino Center. Now retired, Gil and his
wife Dolores are still actively collecting and donating. Together they have donated
to institutions around the nation, including 2,200 works to the National Museum
of Mexican Art and 7,600 works to The Blanton Museum of Art.
'24Sofia Casillas
Fulbright Scholar, Mexico
About Sofia
Sofia Casillas ‘24 graduated from Notre Dame this past spring with a degree in Political Science and Latino Studies and a minor in Business Economics. She is originally from Lone Tree, Colorado. Sofia was part of the fourth cohort of the Latino Studies Scholars Program. During her time at Notre Dame, Sofia participated in the Cross-Cultural Leadership Program, interning at the Sonoma County Office of Equity and the office of Congressman Joaquin Castro. In her junior year, Sofia studied abroad in Chile and visited Machu Picchu with funds provided by ILS. Sofia concluded her senior year by presenting her thesis on the 1975 Voting Rights Act, which won the José Limón Best Paper in Latino Studies Award.
This fall, Sofia will be an English Teaching Assistant through the Fulbright Award in Mexico. This year she joins us as part of the Advisory Council for the Institute for Latino Studies.
'22Matheo Vidal
Associate Director of Finance, White House
About Matheo
Matheo Vidal ‘22 graduated from Notre Dame in 2022 with a degree in Political Science and Latino Studies. Originally from Clermont, Florida, Matheo resided in Keough Hall. Matheo is a devoted public servant with experience in government administration, management consulting, and political campaigning. Currently, he is the Associate Director of Finance at the White House, supporting financial operations at the highest level of the U.S government. Prior to this role, he supported Fortune 50 clients through transformative organizational changes as a Senior Consultant at Oliver Wyman.
'20Armando Sanchez
Software Product manager
About Armando
Armando Sanchez ‘20 graduated from Notre Dame in 2020 where he Majored in Political Science and Minored in: Business Economics, Constitutional Studies, and Latino Studies. He was an AnBryce Scholar, Questbridge Scholar, and an Alumni Dawg. Armando is a proud first generation college graduate and is originally from Visalia, California.
Currently, he lives in Indianapolis, Indiana and has pursued a career in Technology where he is a Software Product Manager at a startup. Outside of work he is a wrestling coach at a local Catholic High School and volunteers with Project Stepping Stone of Indiana which helps Latino Students in Indiana go to college and pursue graduate school. He is recently married to his wife, Sophia ND '20 (Maj: Honors Math, Chinese | Min: Actuarial Science) and they have two crazy English Bulldogs named India and Sosa.
'19Associate Project Manager
About Leslie
Leslie Vergara ‘19 is a first-generation Notre Dame alumni (Class of 2019). She majored in Accounting with a supplementary major in Latino studies and was actively involved in Hispanic Ministries and Ballet Folklorico during her time at ND.
Summer after Junior year, she interned for Vanir Construction Management and was subsequently offered a full time position after graduation. Leslie has now worked for Vanir for 5 years in public works projects across various sectors including healthcare, education, and justice. Leslie's personal experiences have driven her to work with several mentorship organizations throughout the years, and is currently a committee member for the Public Relations & Media committee for CMAA - Southern California Chapter (The Mission of CMAA is to promote, support, educate, and develop professionals in the construction management industry).
'13Gabriela Hernandez Gonzalez
Associate Director of Research and Projects, Center for Social Concerns
About Gabriela
Gabriela Hernandez Gonzalez ‘13 serves as Assistant Director of Research and Special Projects for the Center of Social Concerns, where she supports the development of new initiatives. Prior to this, Gabriela worked with the Graduate Admissions team at the Mendoza College of Business. Over the past decade, Gabriela has promoted equity in various roles, including as an Instructional Development Facilitator at the South Bend Empowerment Zone. She has also volunteered as the Student Relations Director for the Hispanic Alumni Board of Notre Dame and President of the Notre Dame Club of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico. She is a current volunteer for the Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana Michiana and AdelanteND.
Gabriela is currently studying to earn a Master of Science in Applied Computational Mathematics and Statistics focused on Data Science at the University of Notre Dame. She earned her Master of Education in Secondary Education at Wayland Baptist University and Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and Latino Studies with a minor in Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame where she also co-founded the Latino Honor Society at Notre Dame and engaged in many CSC seminars.
Karen Richman
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Institute for Latino Studies
About Karen
Karen Richman is the director of undergraduate academic programs at the Institute for Latino Studies. Richman is a cultural anthropologist. She teaches courses in Latino Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures and Anthropology. Richman is the author of Migration and Vodou (2005), of numerous articles and book chapters on Haitian and Mexican migration, religion, savings, work, language and music. Richman’s scholarship and teaching have been recognized with awards for Open Course Ware Excellence, the Heizer award for the best journal article in ethnohistory and Newberry Library and Social Science Research Council fellowships.
She co-edited a special journal volume on Haitian religion in 2012 and was the hosting chair of the annual Haitian Studies Association conference at University of Notre Dame. Her current research project is an interdisciplinary study of Mexican immigrants’ social wealth, savings and retirement supported by the National Endowment for Financial Education.