Director, Faculty and Instructors, and Staff

Parker VanValkenburgh

Interim Director
Associate Professor of Anthropology

Parker VanValkenburgh (Associate Professor of Anthropology) grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and studied anthropology, Latin American Studies and archaeology at Stanford, Cambridge, the University of London, and Harvard. He has conducted archaeological research in Peru for over 20 years and currently co-directs three major research projects -- the Geospatial Platform in Andean Culture, History and Archaeology (with Steven Wernke); Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa (with Alicia Odewale); and Paisajes Arqueológicos de Chachapoyas (with Carol Rojas Vega), as well as the Digital Archaeology Laboratory at Brown. More>

• parker_vanvalkenburgh@brown.edu

Daiana Rivas-Tello

LACA 1900 Capstone Instructor
Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology

Daiana Rivas-Tello is an anthropological archaeologist and Ph.D. candidate in the Anthropology Department at Brown University. She received her M.A. in Anthropology from McMaster University (Canada) in 2017 and her B.A. in Archaeology and Latin American Studies from the University of Toronto (Canada) in 2013. More>

• daiana_rivas-tello@brown.edu

Daniel Rodriguez

Director of Undergraduate Studies
Associate Professor of History

Daniel A. Rodriguez is associate professor of history at Brown University. He received his PhD. from New York University in 2013. His work examines the social history of Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on 19th and 20th century Cuba. His first book, "The Right to Live in Health: Medical Politics in Postcolonial Havana" (UNC Press, 2020), looks at how struggles over disease and health shaped the lives of Havana's residents during the transition from colonial rule to independence. His more recent work examines the history of childhood in post-emancipation Cuba, examining how new labor, political, and carceral regimes transformed the meanings of childhood as well as the lived experiences of poor children in the decades after slavery. More>

• daniel_a_rodriguez@brown.edu

Alizah Holstein

Events & Outreach Coordinator

• alizah_holstein@brown.edu

Maria Isabel Marin

Center Manager
+1 401 863 2645

 

• maria_isabel_marin@brown.edu

Sebasstian Adriano

Student Staff

Sebasstian is a junior from Puerto Rico who enjoys learning about many fields like economics, psychology, philosophy, and literature. At Brown, Sebasstian majors in Economics and participates in clubs like Effective Altruism and the American Enterprise Institute. He’s published works in SOMOS Latinx magazine and the French Mot pour Mot magazine. Sebasstian’s family immigrated from Mexico to Puerto Rico, so he’s very interested in questions of migration and Latin American culture. He’s worked with organizations like Make the Road New Jersey on these topics. Sebasstian has been writing since middle school and particularly enjoys poetry. He enjoys reading both fiction and nonfiction. You can often find him at the V-dub or in Prospect Terrace.  

Samuel Carillo

Samuel Carrillo (he/him) is a member of the Class of 2025 from San Diego, California, majoring in Economics and Latin American & Caribbean Studies, with a focus on economic development. On campus, he's actively involved with MECHA at Brown as the finance chair. In his free time, he enjoys the beach, Latin hip-hop + rap, and mixology. Samuel's future goals include working on regional development in Latin America, and he's excited to be a DUG leader this year, aiming to bolster CLACS's presence on campus.

Mack Ford

Student Staff

Mack Ford is a junior from San Francisco, California concentrating in English, French and Spanish Comparative Literature. On campus, she’s actively involved with the COLT DUG and as  a Tour Guide, also working as a copy-editor for Sole Magazine, Post Magazine, and the Brown Undergraduate Law Review. Outside of reading and writing, Mack is the manager of her a cappella group, the Jabberwocks, and loves to participate in theater! She’s looking ahead to law school and furthering her work in translation. When she’s not up on stage, you can find her curled up in the Hay with a good book or driving down to Barrington beach for a polar plunge!

Verónica Godina

Verónica Godina (she/her/ella) is a junior from Chicago, IL, and Jalisco, Mexico concentrating in Latin American and Caribbean Studies with a Migration Studies Certificate. She is a LACA DUG leader and a student worker at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Her areas of interest include immigrant advocacy and juvenile justice. At Brown, she is a Bonner Fellow who serves as a juvenile justice intern at Rhode Island for Community and Justice and serves a governor-appointed position on the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee. At home, she interns at an all-female-run immigration law firm and volunteers translating for asylum seekers at sanctuary churches.