Mila Suzano Fernandes Lima is a graduate student in the PhD program in Latin American Studies at the Stone Center at Tulane University. She holds a Licentiate in Arts degree with a major in Portuguese and English, which was completed in Centro Universitário Fundação São José in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she was born and lived for most of her life. With a solid foundation in the studies of languages, education, and literature, she was led to the studies of Brazilian poetry, which was carried out through fields such as comparative literature and music. After completing her postgraduate studies in linguistics and working as an educator in Brazil for several years, Mila had the opportunity to dedicate her studies to music by completing her Master of Arts degree in Music, with an emphasis on Vocal Performance, at the Greatbatch School of Music at Houghton University. Besides working as the Teacher Assistant in the Music History and Lyric Theatre classes, she was granted a scholarship that allowed her to further her research in Brazilian popular music intersected with religion, feminist, and political studies, as well as to perform Brazilian music.

Nicolas Barnum is from Birmingham, Alabama. He received his B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Rhodes College and his M.A. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University. He is currently a Ph.D student in Latin American Studies at Tulane University where his research focuses on contemporary issues of language revitalization and policy in Mesoamerica with a particular emphasis on Mayan languages. He also researches Mesoamerican writing systems and the early Colonial history of New Spain through the lens of decolonization.

Samara Smith received her B.A. in Sociology- Health, Medicine & Society from Xavier University of Louisiana. She has traveled to Ethiopia to conduct research on stroke awareness in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia and more recently to Cuba to learn how Cubans are maintaining the lowest Covid-19 infections rates in the Americas. Her academic interests include International Health Policy, Cuban and Caribbean Studies, Ethiopian Studies, as well as disaster medicine, medical sociology, and cultural studies. Samara hopes to visit Ethiopia again as soon as she can and learn more about her ancestors. In the future, she sees herself as an advocate for international health policy and equality in healthcare.

Sylvia Marina Ruiz was born in Mendoza, Argentina. She earned a Sociology degree from the National University of Cuyo. In 2024, she moved to New Orleans to pursue her M.A. in Latin American Studies at Tulane University. Her M.A. thesis examines how international and national convergencies between the sustainable development paradigm and conservationism open political and economic opportunities for big international conservationist NGOs to land in Latin America and unfold a set of environmental tactics through which they gained institutional access and territorial power in the context of neoliberal restructuring. Currently, she is a PhD student in the same program and continues researching climate change, alternatives to development, and socio-environmental dynamics in Latin America. 

Edith Romero is originally from Honduras; she grew up in a banana town in the north coast of Honduras and moved to New Orleans to begin her higher education. Edith holds a Master’s in Healthcare Management and has experience in community health, Latinx health, reproductive justice, and health equity. Edith is an activist, organizer and poet who envisions art and storytelling as a tool for social change. Edith was awarded the Reproductive Justice Youth Champion award in 2019, a program by Rise Up for young leaders who advocate and organize for reproductive justice around the world. Edith is interested in exploring the intersection of reproductive justice in Latin America, women in social movements and the storytelling of these movements.

Sebastian is from Guatemala. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and a M.A. in Latin American Studies. His interests focus on the intersection between law and politics, especially in judicial institutions, law & economics, and sociology of law. He is passionate about competitive and academic debate.