Education:

Since September, 2001, University of California at San Diego, Communication Department. Doctoral Candidate working on doctoral dissertation entitled “Enforcing Boundaries: Globalizaton, State Power and the Geographies of Cross-border Consumption in Tijuana, Mexico”.

Boston University, Boston, Master in International Relations and International Communication. Thesis entitled Liberal Reform and Media Autonomy in Mexico: Is there a Connection? (September 1995-December 1997). Fellowship Fulbright-García Robles.

El Colegio de México, Mexico City. BA in International Relations. Thesis entitled The Latino Consensus and NAFTA: One Step Towards Political Empowerment of the Latino Community in the United States (September 1990-June 1994).

In my dissertation I explore State-society relations in the Tijuana-San Diego border. In particular, I am concerned with how increased manifestations of State power in this region have reorganized everyday practices of consumption. Since its foundation, the city of Tijuana has undergone a gradual process of infrastructural and economic integration into the Mexican State as well as a physical detachment from the binational region where it is immersed. This detachment process has paradoxically been accentuated with NAFTA, as the intensified cross-border flow of goods has come accompanied by increased restrictions on the movement of people. Based on an ethnographic study that I combine with historical research, I address how State politics in the region have reshaped local markets as well as the ways in which Tijuana residents relate to both the Mexican nation and the northern side. By examining patterns of consumption, I show some of the systems of difference and exclusion that the new border dynamics have introduced and enforced. I also explain how rearranged identities and boundaries both across the border and within border cities have led to a radical transformation of the ways in which Tijuana residents experience and produce the space where they live.

University of Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico. Visiting Scholar. Conducted research on Tijuana history and cross-border consumption patterns among Tijuana residents as part of dissertation project (January 2005-July 2006).

Center for Comparative Immigration Studies (CCIS) and Center for Border and Regional Affairs, California State University San Marcos, Tijuana, Mexico. Research Associate. Coordinated in the City of Tijuana field research utilized in the project “Public Schools and the Empowerment of Poor Communities in the U.S-Mexico border”, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. Facilitated and organized focus groups in the city of Tijuana, which included the establishment of an institutional network of support among local public officials and non-governmental organizations, and participated in research design and content analysis (July-December 2002).

Colegio de la Frontera Norte. Research Associate. Tijuana, Baja California. Conducted research on infrastructure and demographics in border Counties and municipalities from the two sides of the U.S.-Mexico Border. The output was used in report on Border Labor Markets (January-October 2000).

Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego. Special Assistant to the Consul General. San Diego California. Produced analytical reports on border issues, U.S. regional elections, and the Consulate’s internal organization. Organized special events, e.g. conferences in education and culture, visits of high-ranking officials to San Diego, and Mexican festivities. Participated in the elaboration of grant proposals and other fundraising activities. Elaborated and edited newsletter of the Consulate and coordinated informational column at local newspaper. Responsible for the content of the Consulate’s Web Page. Binational liaison with policy coordination mechanism that gathered institutions from the Tijuana-San Diego region. Conducted internal surveys for human resources management, and coordinated program for internal communication and strategic planning (June 1998-October 1999).

San Diego Dialogue. Research Associate. University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA. Conducted research on U.S.-Mexico collaboration and management of the border region. Duties included project design and planning, Internet and bibliographical research of U.S. and Mexican legislation and institutions that deal with the border region, and interviews to high rank officials from Mexico and the United States. Project resulted in Report entitled Strengthening Cooperation: Cross Border Efforts to Create Understanding for the New Millennium (January 1998-January 1999).

Consortium for North American Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC), Visiting Scholar, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Performed media and public relations with Mexican and American government agencies and non-governmental organizations, particularly from the border region and participated in the organization of binational and trinational events. Collaborated in fundraising projects and conducted research on higher education institutions on the US-Mexico border, including a database and a survey. Elaborated specialized reports. (July 1997-July 1998).

Center for Teaching and Research in Economics (CIDE). Policy Researcher. Mexico City. Researched the role of the Latino Community within NAFTA that included surveys to Latino Congressmen, field study in Los Angeles and interviews to Mexican American leaders. Project resulted in successful presentation before faculty to obtain BA degree in International Relations, at El Colegio de México (August 1994-August 1995).

Center for Special Research Projects Processing. (CEPROPIE), International Affairs Consultant, Office of the Presidency, Mexico City. Supported presidential staff at multilateral meetings. Produced trip plans, interviewed public servants and contacted foreign embassies and public offices to prepare confidential briefing reports (August 1994-1995).

• July 2008, Boston, Ma, The Contested Terrain of Consumption, Presentation entitled: “Researching Consumption at the U.S.-Mexico border: the Geographies of Shopping in Tijuana, Mexico”.

• May 2007, San Francisco, Ca, International Communication Association/ BINACOM, Presentation entitled: “How do we see our neighbors from the North. A note about the representation of San Diego in Tijuana’s newspapers”.

• September, 2005, Madrid, Spain, VII Spanish Conference of Political Science and Public Administration (AECPA). Presentation entitled: “Immigration Press Coverage in México and the United States”.

• September, 2005, Puebla, Mexico, Universidad de las Américas. Presentation entitled: “Images and paradoxes of the U.S.-Mexico border”.

• May 2005, New York, International Communication Association (ICA). Presentation entitled: “Citizenship, State and Nation: The Impact of Public Education Reform on Poor Communities in Tijuana, Mexico”.

• June 2005, Tijuana, México, Universidad Iberoamericana. Presentation Entitled: “Visions and Functions of the U.S.-Mexico border”.

• February 2003, San Diego, California,UCSD Civic Collaborative. San Diego Briefing. With Jorge Riquelme, presentation entitled: “Public Schools and the Empowerment of Poor Communities in the U.S. México Border”

• February 2003, Los Angeles, California, University of California Los Angeles. Comparativist’s Day. Presentation entitled: “Immigration and Immigrants in the United States and Mexico: Public Awareness and Public Policy”.

• February 1998, Tucson, Arizona, University of Arizona, Research Center of Mexican-American Studies. Presentation entitled: “The Latino Community and NAFTA”.

2006, ¿Cómo vemos a nuestros vecinos del norte? Apuntes sobre la representación de San Diego en la prensa de Tijuana (How do we see our neighbors from the north? A note about the representation of San Diego in Tijuana’s press) in Comunicación y Sociedad, Guadalajara, Mexico.

2005, “Las paradojas del caos: fracturas y funciones en la frontera de México y Estados Unidos” (The paradoxes of chaos: Fractures and Fusion at the U.S.-Mexico Border), La Aventura de la Historia, Madrid, Spain.

“Se habla español: apuntes sobre la presencia hispana en Estados Unidos” (Se habla Español: A note about the Hispanic presence in the United States), in La Aventura de la Historia, Madrid, Spain.

1998, “Mexico, Latinos and NAFTA”, in The Arizona Report, Mexican American Studies Research Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

1997, “La comunidad latina estadounidense y la aprobación del T.L.C.” (The Latino Community in the United States and the NAFTA approval process), in Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior, Mexico.

University of California, San Diego, Teaching Assistant, Latin American Film, (Spring, 2009)

University of California, San Diego, Teaching Assistant, Children and the Media, (Winter, 2009)

University of California, San Diego, Teaching Assistant, Making of the Modern World, (Fall, 2008)

University of California, San Diego, Teaching Associate, La Frontera: Representation and Politics in the U.S. Mexico Border, (Spring and Summer 2008)

University of California, San Diego, Teaching Assistant. Introduction to Communication. (Fall 2007)

Universidad Iberoaméricana, Tijuana Baja California. Seminar on Border Problems to undergraduate students (January-May 2005)

Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Tijuana, Baja California. Seminar on Research Methods to undergraduate students (August-December 2005), and Seminar on Border Issues (Summer 2005).