My Experience

I have personally experienced the tension that develops when a young Hispanic woman did not act according to society's expectations, decided to focus on her professional career, and pursue graduate education. I have also been the subject of bias by people who did not believe that I was conducting doctoral studies because my earrings matched my necklace. I have not been the subject of the worst instances of bias. However, I have experienced a glimpse of it.

I have also progressively become more sensitive to the injustices committed against traditionally underserved groups in the US today. I have evolved from originally feeling and manifesting bias against other cultural groups to becoming friends, respecting, and celebrating people who look, act or think differently from me. 

My Work in K-12

Since the start of my career as an English teacher in the Title I program of the Department of Education, I have worked with learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. My role then was to assist those learners to achieve the English Language Standards.

Social Justice

I have since worked towards raising awareness and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in my current and two of my previous positions and two volunteering jobs. As Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at St. John’s University, I participated and presented on Vincentian Center for Church and Society events related to social justice, and the eradication of poverty which are part of their mission. I also transformed an original version of their website into a dynamic application that facilitated the dissemination of information about the events and resources for users. 

Working with the Organization of American States, I converted educational materials that subject matter experts (SMEs) provided into scripts/storyboards for interactive learning in subjects such as human trafficking, social protection, and evaluation of policies and programs in education for democratic citizenship. 

Volunteer Work

As a volunteer, I designed a previous version of the website of the Asociación Puertorriqueña de Ayuda a Pacientes de Psoriasis, an association that promotes awareness of this medical condition and acceptance of its patients. I also designed the website of the Asociación Caribeña de Programas de Oportunidades Educativas which promotes access, retention, and opportunity for disadvantaged and minority youth in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Nowadays

Working on Improving Accessibility

My current work at FIU has focused on ensuring equal access to course materials for all students by remediating courses to ensure accessibility. I have also been teaching professors how to take care of this in their courses and supporting them in the process.

Universal Design for Learning

To learn more about ways to make learning materials and experiences more inclusive, I volunteered for training on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and actively supported my university in making learning materials accessible. Most recently, I have started to learn about bias in artificial intelligence. The goal is to provide tools and mechanisms people can use to evaluate the artificial intelligence systems they may use to help make decisions or that are making decisions about them. 

My Interest in Advocacy

There have been moments in the history of the United States when advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion have been of utmost priority and this is one of them. Because of that, I would like to have a more active role in training and advocacy and hope that my next position will facilitate that!