Lecturers

Jose Amaro
  • Phone: 818/677-2724
  • Office: JR 141
  • Email: jose.amaro@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ed.D., Educational Leadership, CSUN; M.A., Chicana/o Studies, CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Biography

Dr. José Amaro is a first-generation college student and a nontraditional student whose educational background motivated intrigue in identity politics and research on how literature, television, and media influence dominant narratives that shape social norms and the conception of race, gender, and sexuality. His A.A. from Oxnard Community College in Social and Behavioral Sciences was conferred in 2013. In 2007, he earned a B.A. in English Literature from California State University, Channel Islands. He is an alumnus of California State University, Northridge (CSUN). In 2013, he received an M.A. in Chicana and Chicano Studies and in 2025 he earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from CSUN. His academic journey led to an emphasis on employing interdisciplinary and qualitative research to critique the representation and discursive treatment of queer masculinity in Spanish language telenovelas, which remains a hobby. Within the field of education, he emphasizes the importance of centering student narratives to interrogate the systematic inequalities and inequities shaping the academic persistence of low-income and first-generation college students-of-color and pedagogical strategies for student retention. His research interests include Chicana/o/x studies, cultural and ethnic studies, and queer studies. His favorite literary movement is the modernist period, and he favors literature from the southwest and California.

Education

A.A., Social and Behavioral Sciences, Oxnard Community College, Oxnard, 2013
B.A., English Literature, California State University, Channel Islands, 2007
M.A., Chicana and Chicano Studies, California State University, Northridge, 2013
Ed. D., Educational Leadership, California State University, Northridge, 2025

  • Phone: 818/677-2734
  • Office: JR 148
  • Email: martin.arce@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Language, Reading, & Culture; M.A., Educational Leadership

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-2734
  • Office: JR 141
  • Email: gabriel.buelna@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Political Science, Claremont Graduate University, M.A., Public Policy, Claremont Graduate University, M.S., Social Work, CSU San Diego

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

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  • Phone: 818/677-2734
  • Office: JR 
  • Email: guadalupe.cardona@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ed.D., Educational Leadership, CSUN; M.A., Curriculum and Instruction, Language and Literacy, Arizona State University; B.A., Latin American Studies, Chicano Studies, UC Los Angeles

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Biography

Dr. Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona has been a Lecturer in the Department of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Northridge since 2018, teaching courses on Chicanx/Latinx Literature, Equity and Diversity in Schools, and Courses for the Ethnic Studies Certificate. She has also taught secondary Social Studies and English since 2000. Her work spans K–12 and higher education teaching, educational nonprofit leadership, and community organizing. She has published on Chicana/o education and Ethnic Studies and contributes to teacher preparation, professional learning, and curriculum development in Chicanx/Latinx Studies and Ethnic Studies. Her scholarship and community-engaged work focus on educational equity, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and the advancement of Liberated Ethnic Studies.

  • Phone: 818/677-3926
  • Office: JR 120A
  • Email: lucila.chavez@csun.edu
  • Degree: M.A., Mexican American Studies, CSULA; M.A., History, CSULA

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

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Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Biography

LeeAndra Chergey holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. After, she spent many years in the corporate and real estate realms before she followed her true passion: the written word.  After her first book, "Make a Wish for Me" was published, and while sharing her family's story, she understood how important telling our own stories is and returned to school. Her driving force being teaching writing. She achieved a Master of Arts with honors in Creative Writing (with an emphasis in Teaching) from CSUN. LeeAndra revels in the experience of breaking down the writing process and seeing students learn how to express themselves. 

  • Phone: 818/677-4621
  • Office: JR 102
  • Email: jaime.cruz@csun.edu
  • Degree: M.A., Urban Planning, UCLA

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Maria Elena Cruz
  • Phone: 818/677-2734
  • Office: JR148
  • Email: mecruz@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Education, UC Santa Barbara; M.A., Education, UC Santa Barbara; M.A., Psychology, CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Biography

Dr. Maria Elena Cruz has been a Lecturer in the Department of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Northridge since 2009, teaching courses on child development, education, and cultural identity. She has also taught at UC Santa Barbara and directed multiple federally funded TRIO programs, including Talent Search and Upward Bound, supporting first-generation and low-income students in California and Texas. Her work spans teaching, grant leadership, and community engagement, with publications on Chicana/o education, teacher preparation, and school equity.

  • Phone: 818/677-3926
  • Office: JR 120A
  • Email: bert.cueva@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Women's Studies, UCLA; M.A., Women's Studies, UCLA; M.A., Urban Planning, UCLA

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

ME Fernandez

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

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Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Biography

Mildred Fuentes-Chung is a first-generation college student whose difficult experience navigating higher education motivated her to help create more opportunities for students like her. After struggling as a student to find her place in higher education, she found community in CSUN’s Chicano/a Studies Department’s Writing Center. Her experience as a tutor directly influenced her approaches to teaching writing and later inspired student-centered curriculum development. Today, she continues to be a part of CSUN’s Chicano/a Studies Department as a lecturer whose pedagogy focuses on emphasizing the power of rhetoric and teaching students how to wield that power through voice and agency. In the academic field, her interests are in creating teaching frameworks based on observation and documentation of current student needs. She believes that with teaching frameworks that are student-centered, the educational system can provide equity to our most vulnerable student populations.

Education:
B.A. English emphasis Creative Writing, California State University, 2013
B.A. English emphasis English Subject Matter, California State University, 2013
M.A. English emphasis Rhetoric and Composition California State University, 2017

  • Phone: 818/677-2605
  • Office: JR 120B
  • Email: antonio.gallo@csun.edu
  • Degree: Juris Doctor, Law, Trinity International University

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-4625
  • Office: JR 102A
  • Email: omar.gonzalez.93@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Chicana/o Studies, UCLA; M.A., Chicana/o Studies, CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-4626
  • Office: JR 102
  • Email: carlos.guerrero@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Cultural Studies, The Claremont Graduate University; M.A., Chicana/o Studies, CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-6817
  • Office: JR 120B
  • Email: carlos.a.hernandez@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Modern Latin American History, UCLA; M.A., History, UCLA, M.A., Latin American Studies, UCLA

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-3976
  • Office: JR 143F
  • Email: xocoyotzin.herrera@csun.edu
  • Degree: M.A., Interdisciplinary Studies (Chicana/o Studies / Spanish), CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-2724
  • Office: JR 141
  • Email: nancy.lee@csun.edu
  • Degree:  M.A., Communication Studies, CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-2883
  • Office: SQ 111
  • Email: mario.lopez@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Educational Leadership, University of La Verne; M.A., Public Administration, CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fabian Pacheco

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Biography

I am proud to be first-generation and the son of immigrants. I was born and raised in Boyle Heights and attended LAUSD schools. My educational journey has not been linear and I embrace it as a source of strength. As a doctoral student, lecturer, and high school counselor, I leveraged my platforms to address systemic oppression that negatively impacts our communities. Some of my research interest includes Hispanic Serving Institutions, the educational pipeline, ethnic and racial socialization, and community cultural wealth. My office and support are open to all students.

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-2734
  • Office: JR 102
  • Email: alex.placencio@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Political Science, Claremont Graduate University; M.A., Administrative Education; CSUN, M.A., Public Policy, Claremont Graduate University

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-2734
  • Office: JR 148
  • Email: maythe.ruffino@csun.edu
  • Degree: Ph.D., Latin American & Spanish Literatures, UC Santa Barbara; M.A., Hispanic American & Hispanic Literatures, UCLA

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

George Sanchez

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

Biography

George B. Sánchez-Tello is an award-winning reporter and writer. He earned his master's degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies at California State University, Northridge, in 2012. Sánchez-Tello teaches writing, public speaking, history and art as well as the Fieldwork in the Barrio class with EOP. 

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD

  • Phone: 818/677-7957
  • Office: JR 114B
  • Email: v.villela@csun.edu
  • Degree: M.A., English Literature, CSUN

Fall 2026 Office Hours: TBD