Ferialab Biosafety Laboratory

Dr. Katherine Christoffersen

Associate Director of B3 Institute

(956) 665-8102

katherine.christoffersen@utrgv.edu

Dr. Katherine Christoffersen

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Dr. Katherine Christoffersen
Associate Director of B3 Institute
Department of Writing & Language Studies
Email: katherine.christoffersen@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-8102

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Dr. Katherine Christoffersen is an assistant professor in Applied Linguistics in the Department of Writing & Language Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She is also Associate Director for the B3 Institute, which facilitates the process through which the university becomes a bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate institution. She holds an MA in English Language & Linguistics and a PhD in Second Language Acquisition & Teaching from the University of Arizona. She is an Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Writing and Language Studies and teaches courses in applied linguistics and sociolinguistics in the BA English, MA Linguistics, and MA ESL programs, integrating bilingual and translanguaging pedagogies in these classes. Dr. Christoffersen's research examines bilingualism in the community and the classroom using discourse analytic and ethnographic research methods. She has published in journals such as the International Multilingual Research Journal, GiST Education and Learning Research Journal, Studies in Applied Linguistics, and NABE Journal of Research and Practice and contributed a chapter to the edited volume Identity and Dialect Performance: A Study of Communities & Dialects. Dr. Christoffersen is also the co-creator of an online accessible database of sociolinguistic interviews entitled Corpus Bilingüe del Valle (CoBiVa), and in 2021, she served as project director and lead principal investigator on the project "Bilingual Voices in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands" funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities.

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Dr. Mirayda Torres-Avila

Assistant Director for Post Approval Monitoring/Training

(956) 665-2498

mirayda.torresavila@utrgv.edu

Dr. Mirayda Torres-Avila

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Dr. Mirayda Torres-Avila
Assistant Director for Post Approval Monitoring/Training
Office of Research
Email: mirayda.torresavila@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-2498

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Dr. Mirayda Torres-Avila is a lecturer II at the Department of Biology, teaching general biology I and II, plant morphology, and biological communication. Her different teaching strategies include community engagement, sustainability components, and bilingual science education. She was awarded the 2018 Commitment to Excellence Award UTRGV-Mathematics and Science Academy and 2019 COS Excellence in Community Engagement. She has contributed to several departmental and university committees and as an advisor of three student organizations. Her current collaboration in research projects involves transcriptome analysis, bilingual-biology education at the college level, and collaborative online international learning.

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Dr. Joy Esquierdo

Director

(956) 665-3605

joy.esquierdo@utrgv.edu

Dr. Joy Esquierdo

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Dr. Joy Esquierdo
Director
Center of Bilingual Studies
Email: joy.esquierdo@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3605

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Dr. J. Joy Esquierdo was born and raised in the delta area of the Rio Grande Valley in deep south Texas. She is a Professor in the Department of Bilingual and Literacy Studies at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. She is also the Director for the Center for Bilingual Studies with the B3 Institute, and the Interim Director for the School of Art. She earned her doctorate degree of Texas A& M University in College Station in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Bilingual Education. Dr. Esquierdo’s scholarship centers on bilingual-dual language students in various areas such as gifted education, content biliteracy development (English and Spanish), and overall best teaching practices for bilingual-dual language learners that focus on academic rigor. She has served the Texas Association for Bilingual Education Executive Board in various positions, including President, Vice-President, and Secretary. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of her two sons, Andrés Joaquín and Rolando Jesús.

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Ana Peña-Olivia

Senior Lecturer

(956) 882-8884

ana.pena@utrgv.edu

Ana Peña-Olivia

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Ana Peña-Olivia
Senior Lecturer
Department of Writing & Language Studies
Email: ana.pena@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 882-8884

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A member of the Spanish Undergraduate Program, Ms. Ana Peña-Oliva, joined the University of Texas at Brownsville in 1999 as a part-time instructor, and is currently a Lecturer II of Hispanic Linguistics with the Department of Writing and Language Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She serves as a Degree Specialist for the Spanish Undergraduate Program (Writing and Language Studies and Literatures and Cultural Studies) and is a member of the BA Spanish Steering Committee. As a member of the BA Spanish Steering Committee, she assists both departments in multiple capacities: course scheduling, curriculum, advising, assessment (SACSCOC and CAEP), student recruiting, language placement, etc.

 

Areas of Expertise:

• Spanish as a Heritage Language
• Language Contact
• The Teaching of Spanish as a Heritage Language
• Language Acquisition

Education:

• She is currently a PhD candidate (ABD status) with the University of Houston, majoring in Hispanic Linguistics with an expected graduation of May 2018. Dissertation: Grammatical differences between Hispanic Transborder and Heritage Language Learners: A longitudinal Study

Degrees:

• MA, Spanish, The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, 1995
• BBA, Marketing, The University of Texas - Pan American, 1987
• AA, General Studies, Texas Southmost College, 1984

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Leslie Z. Gonzalez Ramos

Student

leslie.gonzalezramos01@utrgv.edu

Leslie Z. Gonzalez Ramos

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Leslie Z. Gonzalez Ramos
Student
College of Sciences
Email: leslie.gonzalezramos01@utrgv.edu

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I am a biology student with a minor in medical Spanish. I am a Junior expecting to graduate May 2023.

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