LCC Team Members
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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 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. She also led a research team in a project with the Pilsen neighborhood’s Mexican and Mexican American community and the West Ridge’s South Asian community to better understand how cultural values and traditions impact residents’ understanding and practice of eco-friendly activities. She has collaborated with the museum and arts communities in national projects such as the Immigration Sites of Conscience Network, Americans for the Arts’ New Community Visions, the National Diversity Education Program, and the Humanities Action Lab to increase public dialogue on pressing contemporary issues, while exploring the interplay between diversity and democracy.
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 sustainability, cultural diversity, and social justice; and the role of the arts to increase public dialogue on pressing social and environmental issues.
Cabrera is 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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Edith Tovar, MUPP, Assistant Program Director, she/her/hers
She / Her / Hers
Edith Tovar joined the LCC team in 2011. Her position has changed from Program Coordinator to Assistant Program Director, where she continues to work with UIC students by enhancing their knowledge and appreciation for Latinx cultures through various program initiatives. SpecificallyNoche de Poetas(Poetry Night), a series that invites students and community members from diverse backgrounds to share and compare their life, experiences through their own poetic words and sound. Each Open Mic is in partnership with four student organizations: MeSA, SAFEHR, SJP, and UPRS.
Edith has also developed the LCC’s internship program, a yearlong opportunity for students to improve or develop specific skills like public speaking, intercultural understanding, writing, digital marketing, and etc. through particular assigned projects. The internship program allows students to use their skills and assets to think creatively on how to address and complete their project(s).
Tovar was born and raised in Chicago’s La Villita community. As a first generation Mexican-American and youngest of four, she was the second in her family to graduate from a university. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish-Economics with a minor in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Currently, Edith is seeking a Master’s in Urban Planning and Policy at UIC with a concentration in Environmental Planning and Policy. During the 2017 Urban Planning and Policy Student Association’s 7th annual Urban Innovation Symposium Networked [for Good], she was part of the committee that led her to develop the Water for a Region panel. This session allowed guests to explore the different approaches of environmental justice through various lenses such as academia, government agencies, and community organizing. Her research interests include, cultural planning, Place Lab’s ethical redevelopment, water remediation efforts of the Chicago River and entrepreneurship through a green economy.
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Lena Guerrero Reynolds, MA, Civic Engagement Educator, she/her/hers
She / Her / Hers
Lena became part of the LCC team as a Graduate Assistant in 2014, working on an exhibition entitled “Chocolate: Drink of Gods, Food of Mortals.” On display at UIC in 2015, the exhibit has since become a traveling show. In 2016, she organized the LCC archives in preparation for the Center’s 40th anniversary. Lena also established a tour training program for undergraduate students to learn artistic interpretation and tour facilitation skills, providing new programming for visiting groups. She also helped to expand the center’s Arts-Based Civic Dialogue program, creating an Immigration Dialogue and a grant-funded guide for the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience to help museums and cultural centers host community conversations about issues of Environmental and Climate Justice.
Lena received her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Illinois in Urbana in 2010, followed by work at the Chicago History Museum and the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. She recently completed a Master’s in Museum and Exhibition Studies at UIC with concentrations in History and Environmental studies, where her work with the UIC Freshwater Lab helped to highlight cultural communities along the Chicago River through history and contemporary challenges. She also worked on projects for the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Field Museum. With roots in the pre-UIC near west side, Lena is a third-generation Irish/Mexican Chicagoan, who grew up on the Northwest Side in Independence Park. She currently lives in Jefferson Park with her partner Charlie and their Aussie pup Goose, and enjoys biking, camping, quilting, and exploring interesting museums. Lena believes in the power of cultural spaces to educate, entertain, and challenge our communities to build a more just society.
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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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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.
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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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Student Educator, Spring 2018 to Present
He / Him / His
Erick Vaquero has grown up and continues to live in Wheeling, Illinois in the Northwest Chicago Suburbs. At UIC, Erick has chosen to pursue a B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in social justice and expects to graduate in 2020. While at UIC, he has been exploring his academic interests beyond the scope of the classroom by being a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and working at the Latino Cultural Center as a Student Educator. Erick is also an elected member of the UIC Senate. As an LCC Student Educator, Erick has been tasked with assisting with LCC public programs, serving as an LCC ambassador, and collaborating with the Heritage Garden by creating an app which will aid in monarch butterfly conservation. While at UIC and the LCC, Erick hopes to create equity in places people don’t often consider and to also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the cultural diversity in our communities.
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Student Educator, Fall 2018 to present
She / Her / Hers
Coming Soon!
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lauren
She / Her / Hers
Lauren De Jesus was born and raised in Chicago’s Northwest side. She grew up visiting museums and volunteering in her community, both of which have remained important commitments to her. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a minor in American Indian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While there, 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 use their collections, merging them with history, research, and testimony, to expose the various issues facing society today.
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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.
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Sarah G. Hernandez, Graduate Research Assistant
She / Her / Hers
Sarah Gabriella Hernandez has been with the LCC since 2013, working with the UIC Heritage
Garden internship program, which is an experiential learning initiative for UIC undergraduates
that, through multiple methods, highlights the connection between environmental
sustainability, cultural diversity, and social justice.Sarah is a PhD candidate in the Community and Prevention Research program in the
Department of Psychology and her interests broadly include community-based participatory
research, program evaluation, community health assessment, knowledge translation and
dissemination, urban agriculture in health promotion, and environmental justice. Along with
her work at the LCC, Sarah has been an active leader in the Little Village Community Health
Assessment (LVCHA), which is an academic-community collaborative research effort to promote
health equity in the Little Village community. Through varying community-based research and
evaluation projects during her time at UIC, Sarah focuses on creating and sustaining
collaborative engagement processes between diverse communities and academic stakeholders
in project development, implementation, dissemination, action, and evaluation.Sarah was born and raised in South Florida among both Cuban and Puerto-Rican families. She
thinks of Chicago as her second home, and cherishes all the family she’s made through
generations of Heritage Gardeners.
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Amaris Duran
She / Her / Hers
Student Organization Intern
College: Liberal Arts & Sciences
Major: Political Science
Minor: Latin American & Latino StudiesJasbeth Quintas
She / Her / Hers
Digital Media and Marketing Intern
College: College of Education
Major: Urban Education (Science) -
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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Past LCC Team Members
To find lists of past student workers, interns, staff, and graduate assistants, check out our archives here.