People

Language Program Director

Laura Marqués Pascual, Ph.D.
4323 Phelps Hall
Department of Spanish & Portuguese
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
lmarques@spanport.ucsb.edu
Phone # (805) 893-5017

Teaching Assistant Consultant

Haley O'Neil, ABD Graduate Student
 Hi.  My name is Haley O’Neil and I am a fourth year graduate student in the department of Spanish and Portuguese.  I am originally from New Hampshire and I did my undergraduate degree from SkidmoreCollege in New York.  I spend my summers in Spain working as the assistant director of a study abroad program with Putney Student Travel.  I am currently working on my dissertation on Spanish literary journalism.  My research interests include contemporary peninsular literature, cultural studies and applied linguistics. 

First-year Spanish Instructors

Lauren Applegate, Graduate Student
¡Hola!  My name is Lauren Applegate.  I am at UCSB for my Master’s and PhD in Spanish and Latin American literature.  One of my interests is the Latin-American 20th Century novel, but I am also interested in Golden Age literature.  I am a native Californian, but before coming to Santa Barbara I lived in Cambridge, England, on a short-term visa that allowed me to work there.  I have also lived and studied in Granada, Spain, and Quito, Ecuador, as well as traveled to other Latin American countries. In my class, be ready to get on your feet and talk every single day!

Marilene Barros, Graduate Student
I am a political historian working on Brazilian political history. I specialize in public policy and international relations. I have a BA in Global Studies from UCSB, an MA in political science from Ball State University and I am currently pursuing a PhD in History at UCSB. Prior to academia I was a professional cyclist. I am well published in the field of political science, history of medicine in Brazil, religion and politics and U.S - Mexico border relations. I am passionate about my teaching with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese where I have been employed since 2005. I am a perfectionist, virtually available to my students as much as I can outside my office hours, and I am the founder of the Spanish club in memory of Dr. Timothy McGovern who was my mentor as an undergraduate, a friend and lastly my boss.

Thomas Clark, Graduate student
¡Hola! My name is Thomas Clark and I am a second year masters student in the Latin American and Iberian Studies Program. I received a BA in History with a minor in Spanish here at UCSB in 2004 and now am back again. I learned Spanish through the education system and solidified it during my academic year abroad in Chile. I have since continued to visit different Spanish speaking countries to explore the differences of culture and language and I recommend that to you as well. Outside of school, I love traveling, sports, drinking yerba mate (as you will seen me do in class), and eating good food from everywhere! ¡Ciao, nos vemos en clase!

 

José César del Toro, Graduate Student
¡Hola! My name is José César Del Toro.This is my first-year as a doctoral student at UCSB. My fields of research  are queer Latin American, contemporary Mexican literature and gender studies. I recently graduated with a M.A. from Stanford University.   While at Stanford I had the opportunity to meet and work with scholars and writers. Carlos Rincón, Jorge Ruffinelli, Ruben Gallo, Daniel Balderston, Elena Poniatowska, and Pedro Lemebel. I was born in Guadalajara, México. Guadalajara has been the cradle and dwelling of distinguished writers, painters, actors, film directors and representatives of the arts, such as: Juan Rulfo, Katy Jurado, Gael García Bernal, Guillermo Del Toro. The new Guggenheim museum in Guadalajara is expected to be finished in 2010.

Jeff Cooper, Graduate Student
Personal website
Jeff Cooper is from Portland, Oregon and is a second-year master's student in Hispanic literature. He has also been an exchange student in Villarrica, Paraguay and Seville, Spain.

Leah Fernández, Graduate student
Hello.  My name is Leah Fernandez and I am a PhD student in the Department of History.  I was raised in Imperial Valley, a small agricultural community on the U.S./Mexico border.  In 1998 I received my B.A. in Political Science from UCLA.  I taught elementary school for a few years, then returned to UCLA and received an M.A. in Latin American Studies in 2005.  In my spare time I enjoy looking through historical archives.

Amelia León Aguirre, Graduate Student

Zachary McKiernan, Graduate Student.

Amy Milner, Graduate Student
¡Hola! My name is Amy Milner and I am a second year graduate student in the Latin American and Iberian Studies program. I decided to study Spanish as an undergraduate after traveling to Guatemala and Argentina and falling in love with the language and the various cultures of Latin America. I haven't looked back since! I am currently working on my thesis entitled: Community Development in Globalized El Salvador: A Case Study of Regalo de Dios. I lived in El Salvador after graduating from college and returned last March to interview community members as research for my thesis project.

Ernesto Rodríguez, Graduate Student

Araceli Trujillo, Graduate Student

Amber Workman, Graduate Student
I received my M.A. in Spanish American Literature from Arizona State University.  I am interested in Mexican Literary and Cultural Studies, especially urban literature and Mexican intellectual history.  I hope that my students will enjoy reading, writing, and speaking Spanish and learning about Hispanic cultures.

Marcus Welsh, Graduate Student
My name is Marcus Welsh and I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. I am interested in comparative film, theater, and cultural studies of Spain, Latin America, and U.S. Latinos, especially contemporary representations and productions of marginalized and minority populations. I received my Masters degree in Hispanic Literature from the University of Arizona and have been teaching Spanish at the university level since 1997. I have also taught at the elementary and secondary levels in Puerto Rico and Colombia. What's next? I want to learn to play the guitar and to do yoga. Want to know more? http://www.pacificu.edu/as/world/spanish/faculty/marcus_welsh.cfm

 

Second and third-year Spanish Instructors

Irene Checa, Lecturer
Hola, my name is Irene Checa-Garcia and I am from Granada, Spain. There I got my B.A. in Spanish and my master in Linguistics, and from University of Almería my Ph.D. in linguistics. I first came to UCSB as a graduate student with the EAP program, and I enjoyed so much the research and the atmosphere here that I came again as a postdoc later on and as a lecturer now! My current research is on Spanish Linguistics, in adjective clauses in conversation. Apart from grammar, I also enjoy walking dogs as a volunteer, somewhat odd movies and chatting with friends around a good dinner, among many other things.

 

Omar Miranda Flores, Graduate Student
¡Hola! My name is Omar Miranda Flores, and I am from Chihuahua, Mexico, where I completed my undergraduate studies. I grew up in a valley not so far from the Sierra Madre. I received a MA in Spanish from New Mexico State University, with the desert as a companion. Currently, I'm a PhD student focusing in the works of Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, here in beautiful Santa Barbara, the first time I have ever lived so close to the ocean. Literature and films, fútbol, teaching, creative writing, spending time with my good friends... are part of my life and passions. I consider myself an enthusiastic teacher who tries to make his class both useful and friendly, so welcome to my class those soon-to-be bilinguals.

Myriam Gonzales-Smith, Lecturer

Jacqueline Peláez, Lecturer
¡Hola! Mi nombre es Jacqueline Peláez. I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. I love my native language, and more important, I love to teach it. I earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Universidad Central de Venezuela and then came to the US to study music.I earned a Master's degree in Opera Performance from Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Yes--I teach Spanish and sing opera!). While living in Cambridge, I taught Spanish at Harvard University for 4 years before moving to Santa Barbara in 2005. As you can imagine, I love to sing, sing and sing. I hope you enjoy learning Spanish and understand how important it is in this century and in this country. I hope to see you in my class. If you want to listen my singing visit: http://www.jacquelinepelaez.com

Ana Requena, Graduate Student
¡Hola!  Me llamo Ana Requena.  I am currently in my first year of the Ph.D. program in the Spanish department and I am interested in studying the theatre of the Spanish Golden Age.  I received my B.A. in Spanish and Comparative Literature from UC Davis and my M.A. in Spanish from UC Santa Barbara.  I was born and raised in Northern California, and learned to speak Spanish at home as my entire family is from Spain.  My family comes from the south of Spain, from the province of Almería, on the Mediterranean coast.  It is a beautiful place and I enjoy traveling to Spain to visit family and friends.  I also enjoy reading, cooking, yoga, and watching films.  ¡Bienvenidos a Español 4!

Travis Schoreder, Graduate Student

Portuguese Instructors

 

Nicola Gavioli, Graduate Student

Ellen Oliveira, Graduate Student

Ricardo Vasconcelos, Graduate Student
Personal website

I am Ph.D. Candidate in UCSB's Hispanic Literatures program, specializing in Luso-Brazilian Literatures. Currently I am studying Modern and Contemporary Portuguese Poetry. My M.A. is in Modern and Contemporary Portuguese Literature, and I completed it at Universidade do Porto, Portugal. I have taught Portuguese and English languages, among other courses, since 1998. Teaching Portuguese at UCSB is a good experience, and it is also great fun.