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Texas Language Education Research (TexLER)
24th Annual Conference Theme:
Language Education: Humanizing Research and Practice in the Era of Technological Convergence and Societal Challenges |
Meet Our TexLER 2023 Committee
The Texas Language Education Research (TexLER) Conference Committee is a student organization comprised
of undergraduate, Master's, and Ph.D. students of the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies
and TESOL in the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD).
of undergraduate, Master's, and Ph.D. students of the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies
and TESOL in the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD).
Olga Estrada
President
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Olga Estrada (They/She) is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Culture, Literacy, and Language program at UTSA. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Ethnic Studies from CSU- Fort Collins and holds a Master of Art in Latin American and Border Studies from UTEP. I am a Democratizing Racial Justice teaching fellow through the Andrew W. Mellon grant. As part of the department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality, I teach courses in women, gender, and sexuality studies. As an Anzaldúan theorist, my research interest is centered on decolonial queer Chicana feminist epistemologies, theories, and teaching pedagogies. My current research involves critical autoethnography to explore the experience of being a Queer Chicana/x in higher education. I have been a summer graduate research assistant for the Mexican American Studies Teachers’ Academy for four consecutive years. I am also an active board member of the Association for Jotería Arts, Activism, and Scholarship (AJAAS) and serve as a social media liaison.
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Amanda de Oliveira Silva
Co-Vice President
Amanda de Oliveira Silva is currently a third year Ph.D. student in Culture, Literacy, and Language at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned her master’s degree in Linguistics and Portuguese Language as well as a bachelor’s degree in Language and Literature (Portuguese and English) from São Paulo State University in Brazil. She was also a Fulbright FLTA grantee who taught her home language for one year at Texas Tech University. In Brazil, she has taught ESL for 11 years. Her research interests center around bilingualism, translanguaging, and public bilingual education in Brazil.
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Jerry Romero Jr.
Co-Vice President
Jerry Romero Jr. (He/Him) is a Queer educator/ researcher, San Antonio native, and 3rd year first-generation Ph.D. Fellow in Culture, Literacy, and Language at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He received his undergraduate from Middlebury College, Vermont in East Asian International Studies/ Japanese & Sociology, and his Master of Science degree from UTSA in Sociology. Before becoming a full-time Ph.D. student, he worked for 8 years in SAISD as a Japanese Language and Culture Studies teacher. He has also had the privilege of attending the Japanese Language Academy in Oakland, California, and teaching in Japan for 2 years. His research interests stem from his background in linguistics and sociological research, including Sociolinguistics, Discourse Analysis, Decolonial theory, Feminist theory, QueerCrit theories, LGBTQ+ Identity, and Critical Trans/Queer Studies. His current research focuses on the social construction of Queer Necropolitics, linguistic violence within medicalization, and the production of transmisogynistic/anti-LGBTQ discourse and rhetoric.
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JENNIFER YAÑEZ-ALANIZ
Secretary
Jen Yáñez-Alaniz (She/her) is a Chicana Mestiza activist, educator, and poet. She is a PhD Fellow in Culture, Literacy, and Language in the Department of Bilingual Bicultural Studies at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Her focused studies center on Translanguaging Poetics. As co- founder of “Welcome: A Poetry Declaration,” she brings awareness through equity-driven cultural conversations centered on language justice, the preservation of language, and language literacy. Her work, “Matrilineal Poetics: Toward an Understanding of Corporeality and Identity” is featured in Latinas in Hollywood Herstories. Her latest and forthcoming publications are included in The Journal of Latina Critical Feminism, South Dakota Review, West Trestle Review, Cutthroat: Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century Anthology, Boundless Anthology, and more. She is the author of an extensive critical biography of Carmen Tafolla published in the forthcoming anthology Chicana Portraits, and her debut poetry collection, Surrogate Eater, published by Alabrava Press.
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ASLIHAN YILMAZ
Secretary
Aslihan Yilmaz is a transnational first-year doctoral student and graduate teaching assistant in the Culture, Literacy, and Language program at UTSA. Growing up in Turkey, I became adept at navigating diverse value systems, and my experiences of crossing borders have significantly influenced my research interests. These experiences have become integral to my academic identity and have shaped the conceptual frameworks through which I approach my research topics. I am interested in exploring the intricate dynamics of teacher identity and the process of language socialization. Our identities are shaped by many factors, including our cultural backgrounds, experiences, and interactions with others. Attempting to capture the essence of who we are in a single bio fails to acknowledge the complexity and fluidity inherent in our identities. Instead, I embrace the ongoing nature of identity development and the constant exploration it entails. So please feel free to get in touch with me, as I am always open to engaging in discussions and dialogues that delve into the multifaceted nature of identity and its ongoing process of development.
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GENEVIE C. RODRÍGUEZ-QUIÑONES
Social Media Manager
Genevie C. Rodríguez-Quiñones is a Chicana scholar completing her first year as a doctoral student in the Culture, Literacy and Language (CLL) program at UTSA. She is also an alumnus of UTSA earning an M.A. in Bicultural-Bilingual Studies and a B.A. in Mexican American Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies. As a professional, she has completed 20 years of service as a dual language teacher, academic interventionist, Literacy Coach, and currently serves as an IB Coordinator at Las Palmas Leadership School for Girls. Her passion for authentic multicultural children's literature led her to earn her Bilingual Reading Specialist certificate. This coursework and her work with Mexican American Studies in schools led her to engage in doctoral studies. As a student in the CLL program, she is interested in the use of multicultural literature that centers Mexican, Mexican American, Chicanx experiences. More specifically, how are teachers engaging multicultural texts in their instruction as a means to support the development of a healthy ethnic identity for our students and how do teachers feel about utilizing these texts.
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JACKIE ZAPATA
Social Media Manager
Jackie Zapata is the current Bilingual/ESL/LOTE Coordinator for East Central ISD. She has served the San Antonio public school system for 16 years in the capacities of Dual Language teacher, ESL teacher, Bilingual Literacy Interventionist and Instructional Specialist. She is a first-generation college graduate. She received her bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Bilingual Education and her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Our Lady of the Lake University. She is currently working on her doctorate degree at the University of Texas in San Antonio. Her research interests include Dual Language Education, English Learner Identities, and the impact of colorism in an individual's identity. As an English Language Learner, her main priority is to advocate for more positive mindsets and more intentional identification and reclassification processes. She is a proud Latina, wife, mother and bilingual educator.
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MICHELLE TORRES GARZA
Volunteer Coordinator
Michelle Torres Garza (Ph.D. Student) – I am a first-generation Latina, native Tejana, mother, scholar, and bilingual in English and Spanish. My “momo” (grandmother) encouraged and believed in me to pursue a higher education. Through the small seed my Latina grandmother planted as a child and the support of my family doubts of, “Sí, se puede” slowly subsided. My undergraduate and graduate studies were focused on sociology and how the community functions as a whole. Having a passion for qualitative research methods, I am honored to have promoted scholarly work in immigration, religion, health disparities, mental health, and juvenile justice. My work has mostly focused on the populations of immigrant women, children, and adolescents in the countries of Jalisco, Mexico, Matagalpa, Guatemala, and the United States. I continue to focus on the underserved and underrepresented Latino communities through the lens of my Tias and Tios in the community.
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CARLY LEECH
Volunteer Coordinator
Carly Leech currently serves in a dual role as the Campus Bilingual/ESL Coordinator and Academic Interventionist at Howard Early Childhood Center in Alamo Heights Independent School District. She has a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. Carly is a doctoral student in the department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies, pursuing a PhD in Culture, Language, and Literacy. Her research interests include Dual Language Education, language ideologies, language policy, assessments designed for young Emergent Bilinguals, and the complexities of providing appropriate services to Emergent Bilingual students who have learning differences and/or participate in Special Education.
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MICHAEL C. MAURICIO
Program Design Lead
Michael Cabantac Mauricio is a multilingual teacher of English with nine years of teaching experience. He earned his Master of Arts in Education degree with specialization in English Language Teaching from Philippine Normal University, The National Center for Teacher Education, Manila, Philippines. His research interests include language policy and planning, language in STEM education, teacher education, and multilingualism. He is currently doing a Ph.D. in Culture, Literacy and Language at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
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KATHRYN HENDERSON, Ph.D.
Faculty Advisor
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Kathryn I. Henderson is an assistant professor in the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies, College of Education and Human Development at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Her education interests include language ideologies, language policy and dual language bilingual education programs.
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