Andrea Garcia-Borbón is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. Her research is situated at the intersection of race, gender, and religion, examining how social inequalities are reproduced and resisted within contemporary Christian Protestantism. She is interested in how communities, especially those marginalized by race, gender, and sexuality, construct meaning and joyful expression amid systems of domination.
Her current work focuses on Latino evangelical pastors navigating institutional power, cultural identity, and theological belief within the predominantly white Southern Baptist Convention. Drawing on in-depth interviews, she explores the gendered theological positioning of male pastors and the racialized experiences of Latino religious leaders operating within evangelical institutions.
Andrea is a recipient of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) Religion Section's Korie Little Edwards Research Grant, the Association for the Sociology of Religion's (ASR) Ralph A. Gallagher Grant and the Fichter Research Grant, the UC San Diego Summer Research Fellowship, the SAGE Publishing Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award, and the SAGE 2024 Editor’s Choice Award for Best Music Industry Case. She is currently working with Dr. Mary Blair-Loy and Dr. John Evans.
Andrea holds an MA in Sociology from UC San Diego, an MA in Peace and Justice Studies from the University of San Diego, and dual BAs in Communication and Spanish from UC Santa Barbara. She previously worked in community advocacy and education, experiences that continue to shape her commitment to centering marginalized voices in her scholarship. She is a Central American Latina, deeply committed to mentorship and public sociology.