LCC Team Members
Staff
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Rosa Cabrera, PhD, Director, she/her/hers
She / Her / Hers
Rosa M. Cabrera became the director of the Rafael Cintrón Ortiz Latino Cultural Center at UIC in the spring of 2011. She earned her Doctorate in Anthropology and Bachelors of Arts in Design from UIC. Cabrera has talked extensively on the role of ethnic museums and cultural centers in shaping community identity–which was the topic of her dissertation. Prior to joining UIC, she was at the Field Museum where she led the “Cultural Connections” program, a partnership of more than 25 ethnic museums and cultural centers in Chicago that formed the Chicago Cultural Alliance in 2006 under her leadership. Between 2009-2011, she was part of a research team in a project with nine Chicago neighborhoods to better understand how diverse residents, including Latinxs in Pilsen could be engaged in the Chicago Climate Action Plan. At UIC she has implemented projects such as the Heritage Garden to help the campus make explicit connections between environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, and social justice. She is currently working on the Humanities Action Lab “Climates of Inequality” project, which includes a traveling exhibit that amplifies local stories of environmental justice. The local story of La Villita, developed by UIC students in partnership with Alianza Americas, reveals how environmental injustice, immigration, and policing intersect in this neighborhood.
Cabrera is affiliated faculty with the UIC Department of Anthropology, Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Program, the Graduate College, and Museum and Exhibition Studies (MUSE) Program. She is also a Keller Science Action Center Associate at the Field Museum. Her research interests include: the role of museums in civic participation and community identity formation; Latinx identity and citizenship; the intersections of environmental/climate justice and immigration; and the role of the arts to increase public dialogue on pressing social and environmental issues.
Cabrera is a first generation college graduate and a 1.5 generation immigrant from Cuba who arrived with her mother in Chicago during a grey, snowy day in the 1970’s. She calls Chicago home and loves its parks and magnificent museums, the ‘L’ (elevated train), and the amazing cultural workers committed to social and environmental justice.
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Mario Lucero, MA, Associate Director
He / Him / His
Mario Lucero graduated from UIC with a Master’s degree in Latin American and Latino Studies in 2013; and a BFA in Media Arts & Design in 2008 from the Illinois Institute of Art.
As an artist and educator, he believes that social justice art must be informed, strategic, and accessible—and always with an intersectional lens—in order to build critical consciousness within the Latinx community and beyond. For over ten years, Mario has been a community ally and advocate for social justice and equity across the spectrum, including at the intersection of cultural heritage and STEM education.
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Jocelyn Munguia Chavez, Program Coordinator, they/them/theirs
They / Them / Theirs
Jocelyn Munguía Chávez has been part of the LCC team since 2013. As a student educator, they led mural tours with the LCC’s Awakening of the Americas indoor mural. Throughout the years, they were also responsible for overseeing the gallery space requests as well as digital marketing for public programs. Their organizational skills, commitment and love for photography and social & environmental justice were a perfect match for the center. The love for science and helping others led them to pursue a B.A. in Applied Psychology at UIC in 2017. Munguía is now assisting with the development of public programs, expanding the LCC’s ARTivism series, leading bilingual tours and dialogues, and overseeing LCC interns and graphic designer.
During their undergraduate efforts, Jocelyn was one of the co-founders of Fearless Undocumented Alliance (FUA), a student organization created as a support and advocacy group by and for undocumented students on campus. Munguía’s interests on education and mental health complemented FUA’s initiatives and they advocated for educational equity in IL through legislation. After graduating, Jocelyn researched and archived the accomplishments of FUA and their collaboration with the LCC for future generations. Check them out HERE.
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Nadia Sol Ireri Unzueta Carrasco
They/Them/Theirs Ellx/Ella
Ireri Unzueta Carrasco was born in Mexico DF and has lived and grown up in La Villita since the age of seven. Despite having lived in the US for 12 years, Ireri did not really start to feel at home until 2006, after joining a group of artisans and musicians who organized free art and music classes for the kids in Little Village. The group called itself Arte y Realidad, and the classes took place in a church garage, behind a cafe, and in public parks in Little Village, working with kids as young as two and as old as who ever showed up. It was a space that encouraged people to try to learn new skills, and held the central idea that everyone has something to teach and learn from one another. Ireri continues to hold this view as central to their work with young people, with immigrant communities, and with plants and ecosystems.
Ireri started out at UIC in 2005 through the College of Architecture, Design and the Arts, joining the Industrial Design program. Even though Ireri did not graduate with that degree, the Industrial Design program left them with an appreciation of how different peoples have practiced and still practice the cultivation of a relationship to the ecosystems around us of reciprocity, generosity, and community building, rather than the mainstream relationship of extraction, expendability, and individualism. And it was in the Gender and Women’s Studies Department that Ireri was able to delve deep into discussions of identity, class, gender, citizenship or lack of, migration, through a historical and cultural lense that helped them make sense of the injustices they saw in their daily life. These lenses continue to shape how Ireri analyses and sees the world. Ireri graduated from UIC with a Bachelor of Arts in Gender and Women’s Studies in 2009.
In 2009, tired of the frustrations and obstacles placed by a lack of immigration status, Ireri joined the Immigrant Youth Justice League, a group composed of young undocumented people working to diversify the narratives about being undocumented and creating spaces and resources for undocumented young people to navigate different aspects of life. Now, Ireri still collaborates with groups that uplift the organizing of undocumented immigrant communities, particularly working with Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD), and collaborating with Chicago Community and Workers Rights (CCWR). Ireri is also a proud worker owner of the workers’ cooperative Catatumbo Cooperative Farm in Chicago.
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lauren
She / Her / Hers
Lauren De Jesus started as a Graduate Assistant from Fall 2017 to Spring 2019. She grew up volunteering in her community on the Northwest side and visiting Chicago’s museums. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016 and recently completed her Master’s in Museum and Exhibition Studies at UIC. Throughout these experiences, she developed a passion for cultures, museum work, and social justice. Her goal is to change the way the public views museums by demonstrating that museums can utilize their expertise to encourage visitors to think critically about the issues facing society today.
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Alonzo Zamarrón, BD, Graphic Designer, he/him/his
He / Him / His
Alonzo Zamarrón started as a Graphic Designer for the UIC Latino Cultural Center from Spring 2014 to Spring 2017, while pursuing a BFA in Graphic Design from UIC, and he continues to contribute his artistic eye to LCC promotional materials and more. Born and raised in Rochelle, IL and transplanted to Chicago, Alonzo became involved with many social justice movements by designing and printing their promotional material. After graduating, Alonzo was hired full-time in a roll that currently supports several UIC diversity units including the Latino Cultural Center, Office of Diversity, and the Women’s Leadership and Resource Center.
During his spare time and on weekends, Alonzo plays the trumpet, saxophone, and guitar, as a member of Banda San Guillermo, Fuerte Arranke, and UIC’s Mariachi Fuego. His musical performances have taken him to many cities across Illinois and the midwest which has exposed him to the many different ways the Latinx communities come together to celebrate.
Student Educators
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Student Educator, Fall 2019
He / Him / His
Luis Cabrales is a Chicago native, born and raised on the Southeast Side of Chicago and currently lives in the East Side neighborhood. He is a fourth-year student studying Integrated Health Sciences with a minor in Sustainable Cities and expects to graduate in May 2020. Luis has focused his studies on the environment and conservation of public lands and green spaces. Outside of the classroom, Luis is an advocate for social and environmental justice and is the Co-founder / President of a youth organization in his neighborhood, called the Southeast Youth Alliance (SYA). In his two and a half years at the UIC Greenhouse, Luis helped establish a partnership between the Greenhouse and the Field Museum to aid in the seeding, growing, and distribution of 4,000 milkweed and other native flowering plants. As an LCC student educator, Luis hopes to engage more people in conversations concerning the connections between culture and the environment.
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MECHIYA JAMISON
She / Her / Hers
Graduate Assistants
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ian
He / Him / His
Ian Torres grew up half of his life in Puerto Rico and half of his life in the West Suburbs on the outskirts of Chicago. He received his Bachelors of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies with a double minor in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Illinois at Chicago. As a student Ian worked as a student educator with the UIC Latino Cultural Center, as a Student Leader for the UIC Heritage Garden, and as a member or leader of several student organizations on campus. He became the Dialogue Coordinator for the LCC in the Spring of 2017 and Program Assistant for L@s GANAS in the Spring of 2018. Working with the L@s GANAS STEM program, supported by the Hispanic Serving Institution grant, Ian has helped craft new dialogues tailored for science research students. He also schedules and facilitates these programs. Ian is also currently pursuing his Masters of Education Degree in Youth Development at UIC.
Interns
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Valerie Razo
She / Her / Hers
Digital Marketing Intern
Daniela Rosales
She / Her / Hers
Student Organization Leader Intern
Yazmin Jimenez
She / Her / Hers
Special Projects Intern
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info
Heritage Garden project efforts are carried out through the activities of the internship program, which runs in Fall, Spring and Summer and adapts to the season. Interns sustain the planting of the satellite gardens and offer public programs, tours of the gardens, and volunteer days. The UIC Sustainability Fee has funded paid internships since its inception in the summer of 2013.
To see a list of current and past interns and leaders, visit the Heritage Garden website.
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Find out more at the links below
Lead. Create. Change. Internship Program
UIC Heritage Garden Internship Program
Past LCC Team Members
To find lists of past student workers, interns, staff, and graduate assistants, check out our archives here.