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“A Network for Latino Faculty, Staff, and Students”

"Una red para académicos, empleados y estudiantes latinos"

BOARD Meet the members of the MU Voz Latina board And our previous leaders

JUNTA DIRECTIVA Conozca los miembros de la junta directiva de MU Voz Latina y los líderes anteriores.

 

 

 

Hannia Burke-Agüero (MU Voz Latina President)

Bilingual and bicultural therapist at MU Health Care, fromCosta Rica

1. Where are you from and what brought you to MU? I am originally from Costa Rica. I moved to the United States in 1987 to pursue graduate studies. My family and I moved to Columbia in 2005 when my husband joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology in the School of Medicine. I began working at the University Hospital and Clinics in 2006 as a medical interpreter, one of my professional careers. I currently work as a counseling intern, providing psychotherapy at The University of Missouri Adult Psychiatric Clinic.
2. What do you enjoy most about working at MU? I enjoy my interaction with the patients who come with LEP (Limited English Proficiency), and I like to help them navigate the complexity of the medical system while their needs and concerns are met. I also feel very stimulated by the many learning opportunities from doctors, nurses, students and everyone with whom I work on a daily basis. I feel very proud of the University of Missouri and Hospital for having the vision to recognize the growing diversity in Columbia and the State of Missouri's population and stepping up to their responsibility in providing an office for Language Services.
3. What do you enjoy about Columbia? Columbia is a very small city with the charm of a bigger city. I enjoy meeting people from all over the world as well as having a wide variety of ethnic restaurants. The shows that Jesse offers are definite highlights for me as well. I enjoy the art galleries, the True False Festival, and the great variety of theater groups; also the many opportunities that the Columbia Public Schools provide for their students.
4. What is your area of professional expertise? I am a bilingual-bicultural psychotherapist. My expertise is working with women’s issues. I also work with families, children and couples. I have worked extensively with people in their process of cultural transition, with sojourners and immigrants who face issues of acculturation and adaptation. Other areas that I work in my professional practice are depression, anxiety, and personal growth.
5. Why did you choose to become a member of MU Voz Latina? Because I believe in making a positive difference anywhere I go, even when my contribution is small. Joining Voz Latina provides me with many opportunities to contribute to our MU and greater Columbia community.

 

Elizabeth Hoyos (MU Voz Latina Vice-President)

Biochemistry Research Scientist MU College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (CAFNR), from Colombia

1. Where are you from and what brought you to MU? I came to MU to get my master degree on Plant Pathology in 1991, stayed for my Ph.D. and then just started working at the Biochemistry Department as a Research Scientist and established residence in this beautiful community.
2. What do you enjoy most about working at MU? Working at MU is very interesting as there is a lot of diversity, especially in my field working with plants. We have a very high degree of collaboration through the IPG (Interdisciplinary Plant Group). The campus has also evolved to become a very nice place, with the Mizzou Botanical Garden, that keeps the grounds looking gorgeous with the newest and strongest plant combinations. These activities make our campus very appealing to faculty, staff and students.
3. What do you enjoy about Columbia? Columbia like the university has an amazing diverse population, programs to attend, and good schools for our kids. Columbia is also small enough that is not an ordeal to go from one place to the other. As a Latina, having organizations such as the Centro Latino is very important because of the service and resources offered to us.
4. What is your area of professional expertise? I am a Research Scientist at the MU Biochemistry department.
5. Why did you choose to become a member of MU Voz Latina? MU Voz Latina, is the only organization in our campus that represents Latino faculty and staff and also promotes outreach to the Latino community in our city.

 

Irma Arteaga (MU Voz Latina Treasurer)

Assistant Professor of Public Affairs MU Truman School of Public Affairs, from Perú

1. Where are you from and what brought you to MU? Prof. Irma Arteaga is from Peru and joined the MU Truman School of Public Affairs after earning a Master’s degree in Public Policy and a doctorate degree in Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota.
2. What do you enjoy most about working at MU? Irma enjoys working at MU because she finds colleagues to be very friendly and it is easy to work with people from different disciplines. The teaching component of her appointment also allows her to challenge her and her students on finding creative ways of thinking and solving current policy problems.
3. What do you enjoy about Columbia? Irma’s expertise is on evaluating programs that reduce poverty, children malnutrition, gender and ethnic disparities and on studying the effects of early childhood interventions on cognitive and socio-emotional skills of children. Irma has previously worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, as the Chief of the Data Analysis Area for the Peruvian Congressional Research Service, and also as an Economic Consultant in educational topics for a Peruvian NGO and as an Economist for the Peruvian Supervisory Organism in Telecommunications.
4. What is your area of professional expertise? Irma really likes living in Columbia, because in contrast to her hometown Lima, Columbia is a very small college town in which people take the time to get to know you. She also enjoys biking on the MKT trail.
5. Why did you choose to become a member of MU Voz Latina? Irma was invited to join the MU Voz Latina board in 2012, and she gladly accepted. She wishes to contribute in increasing the number of members and in creating a friendly space for Latino faculty and staff in our campus. Irma’s goal is that all Latino MU faculty and staff can achieve academic, professional and personal success. Irma believes working as a team makes the journey more bearable and enjoyable.

 

Lindsey Saunders (MU Voz Latina Secretary)

Cambio Center Coordinator, from US

1. Where are you from and what brought you to MU? I was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri. I left the Midwest to attend college, where my interests and studies began to include Latin America. Eventually, I moved to Bogota, Colombia, where I worked with a US-based nonprofit that monitors the impacts of US policy in Latin America. Colombia became my second home. After four years there, I decided to move closer to my family and pursue graduate studies. In 2011, I moved to Columbia and started working at the Cambio Center.
2. What do you enjoy most about working at MU? I enjoy working at MU because I get to work with very dedicated people who are focused on applied research that seeks to understand and help improve our communities. I like how interdisciplinary work is encouraged and implemented.
3. What do you enjoy about Columbia? I like how Columbia’s small size facilitates community-building while also providing many diverse opportunities and perspectives. I like that the city is bike-friendly and it has a growing good-food movement that supports access to local healthy produce.
4. What is your area of professional expertise? I work in the Cambio Center where I coordinate its research and outreach on Latinos and changing communities in the Midwest. I studied in the MU Rural Sociology department, where I focused on how conservation policy affects agriculture and food sovereignty.
5. Why did you choose to become a member of MU Voz Latina? MU Voz Latina is a valuable part of our campus and our community as it welcomes newcomers and builds networks, it shares and builds understanding around Latinos and Latino cultures, and advocates for the wellbeing of Latinos and immigrants in our community.

 

Norma Castro Guerrero (MU Voz Latina Community Outreach Coordinator)

Research Associate in the Division of Plant Sciences, from Mexico

1. Where are you from and what brought you to MU? I am from Mexico City. I studied Chemistry and got a PhD in Biochemistry at UNAM. I moved to San Diego as a PostDoctorate scholar working in Genetics at The Scripps Research Institute and I moved to Columbia MO in 2011 when I joined MU as a Research Scientist at the Life Sciences Center.
2. What do you enjoy most about working at MU? I enjoy the facilities Mizzou has, where I can carry out my research applying all kinds of cutting edge approaches. Also, I enjoy the collaborative philosophy that exists at MU.
3. What do you enjoy about Columbia? I appreciate the small size of this town. Also I enjoy the trails and outdoor activities. 
4. What is your area of professional expertise? I am a Biochemist and study how nutrients mobilize and allocate in plants.
5. Why did you choose to become a member of MU Voz Latina? I am very grateful for the great work previous committees have done for the Hispanic community at this University. I hope I can contribute, at least in some way, to other people.

 

Sarah Buchanan (MU Voz Latina Faculty Representative)

Assistant Professor in the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, from US

1. Where are you from and what brought you to MU? Prof. Buchanan is from Las Vegas, Nevada, is of Mexican heritage, and joined Missouri's iSchool after completing her Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin.
2. What do you enjoy most about working at MU? I most enjoy working with enthusiastic and dedicated students who are excited to learn about the world of archives and records, and collaborating with MU librarians and faculty on interesting research and teaching activities. Mizzou offers wonderful opportunities to learn and work with experts across campus.
3. What do you enjoy about Columbia? Columbia is a wonderful place to live, work, and explore our region, and I enjoy the city-campus setting.
4. What is your area of professional expertise? As an archival educator, my research and scholarship is focused on records curation and preservation issues and more broadly graduate education for information professionals, with special interests in community archives and digital classics.
5. Why did you choose to become a member of MU Voz Latina? MU Voz Latina provides an important way for faculty, staff, and students to learn from one another and amplify our contributions to Mizzou and Columbia, MO.

 

Carolina Grullon Valmes (MU Voz Latina Staff Representative)

Residential Life and We Make Your Cake, from Dominican Republic