Cynthia Garza

Cynthia's career in education began in Peru, as an advocate for working children who were an average of 2-5 years behind in traditional schooling. For the past two decades, she has worked in diverse school environments throughout New Orleans, including French immersion, charter, and independent schools. At the university level, she taught Cultural Anthropology and Latin American Studies as a Professor of Practice at Loyola University, where she led the Mexico City summer program, and currently teaches the Residency I course in Tulane SOPA's K-12 Education Program. 

Cynthia has extensive experience designing international educational experiences, having led study abroad programs for secondary students to Martinique, France, Peru, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, as well as summer institutes for K-12 educators in Guatemala and Mexico. In 2017, she was selected as one of ten educators from across the country as a Harvard University Globalizing the Classroom teaching fellow. Cynthia also coordinates the Américas Award, which recognizes exceptional children's and young adult literature that authentically portrays Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latinx communities in the United States.