Session Leaders & Bios

Dr. Anthony Blacksher is an associate professor and the department chair of sociology at San Bernardino Valley College. Prior to receiving his doctorate in cultural studies from Claremont Graduate University, he helped bring San Diego’s spoken word poetry community to national prominence. Dr. Blacksher continues to research and perform poetry while raising his amazing daughters. He writes and performs regularly with the performance art collective bkSoul, and also serves as the publisher of the San Diego Poetry Annual.

Cecilia Caballero is based in Los Angeles, Cecilia Caballero is an Afro-Chicana creative nonfiction writer, poet, teaching artist, adjunct professor of Ethnic Studies, and co-editor of the bestselling book The Chicana Motherwork Anthology.

As a teaching artist, Cecilia draws on BIPOC literature and poetry to design and facilitate writing workshops to cultivate more communal spaces of storytelling and social justice.

Currently, Cecilia is a 2022 Visiting Teaching Artist with the Poetry Foundation and a teaching artist for the Puente Program.

She holds an MA in American Studies in Ethnicity from USC, dual BA degrees in English literature and Chicanx Studies from UC Berkeley, and an AA from Los Medanos College.​

Karla Cordero is a descendant of the Chichimeca people from Northern Mexico, a Chicana poet, educator, and ARTtivist, raised along the borderlands of Calexico, CA. She is a three-time Pushcart nominee and offered fellowships from California Arts, VONA, Macondo, CantoMundo, The Loft Literary Center, Community of Writers and Pink Door Writing Retreat.

Karla teaches creative writing and composition at MiraCosta College and San Diego City College, receiving recognitions such as the San Diego State University Global Diversity Award and Associate Faculty of the Year for education and social justice.

Karla is the editor of SpitJournal an online literary review for poetry and social justice and the CFO and Social Justice Equity Coordinator for the non-profit Glassless Minds.

Anjali Deva is an Ayurvedic practitioner & teacher currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. Her private practice, Rooted Rasa, specializes in an integrative and trauma-informed approach to Ayurveda. In 2020, Anjali founded Mādhya Way, a school for Ayurveda. Anjali’s compassion-based approach is useful in alleviating anxiety, depression, PTSD, digestive disorders, and women’s health issues. Her clinical experience began at Hope Integrative Psychiatry overseen by Omid Naim, MD. Her familial lineage is rich with the desire to preserve and maintain these healing arts. She has trained with Kerala Ayurveda Academy, Loyola Marymount’s Yoga and the Healing Sciences Program, and with various teachers both in the United States and India.

Michelle Gonzalez was born in East LA, is a third-generation Xicana, and a product of community college and instructors who appreciated and encouraged her cultural wealth. She holds a BA in English/Creative Writing with and Ethnic Studies minor, and a MFA in English/ Creative Writing. She published a memoir, The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band (PM Press). She is working on a text book, Next Level English: A Step Toward a More Inclusive Composition with colleagues Kisha Quesada Turner and Karin Spirn.

Steven Hal Huntsman has been teaching math for most of his life. As a full-time faculty member at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, CA, his work focuses on closing equity gaps for underrepresented students. He has written and presented about teaching, learning, and equity in community colleges throughout the state and the country.

Carmen Johnston has thirty years of experience in education, youth development, and teaching. She has been an English professor at Chabot College for sixteen years, teaching in programs such as Umoja and FYE. Carmen is dedicated to providing anti-biased, anti-racist, equitable educational experiences for all students. She is the co-founder of the Change It Now! social justice leadership learning community at Chabot College and the Chabot Collaborative for Equity and Professional Growth.

Kelan Koning (she/her) is a professional learning coordinator for the California Community Colleges' Success Network (3CSN) with over 20 years of experience supporting marginalized learners in the Educational Opportunity Program and the writing classroom. Her holistic pedagogical approach weaves trauma-informed SEL, disability justice, and love.

Kristin Land has taught English composition and literature at Chabot College in Hayward, CA since 2009. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA in American Literature with an emphasis in Chicano Studies and went on to earn a single-subject English credential and Master’s degree in Education from UC Berkeley. She has been a Puente teacher ever since. Kristin is committed to collaborating with students, families, and colleagues – particularly those in the Puente Project, the Change It Now Learning Community, and the Bay Area Writing Project.

Dr. Luke Lara is part of a large bicultural, biracial family of musicians and artists that honor their Afro-Ecuadorian and Andean roots. He is a counseling faculty member at MiraCosta College and joined the Puente familia in 2011. His guiding frameworks include Critical Race Theory, Validation Theory, the Community Cultural Wealth Model, and the Socio-Ecological Outcomes Model. He is also a scholar of faculty diversification and enjoys empowering students to overcome math anxiety.

Dr. Veronica Lopez is the eldest and proud daughter of immigrant parents. She is first-generation Chicana and the first in her family to graduate from college earning an undergraduate degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from UC Santa Cruz. Veronica obtained her Ph.D. from UC Davis in Nutrition and continued as a research scientist at The Pennsylvania State University. Since 2016, Dr. Lopez has been teaching at American River College where she gets the honor of sharing her passion for science through comida.

Kisha Quesada Turner is a Black graduate of PWIs which has made her long and hyper aware of the richness of Black Englishes and the under-utilization of them in classrooms. Her written reflections of this gap drove her to pen "Ni**as in English" in 2019. She also co-authored "Curriculum Trauma" with Profs. Ebony Tyree and Abdimalik Buul (2020). At Las Positas College, she is full-time faculty, an Umoja Learning Community practitioner,and Black Student Union advisor.

Christopher Rice-Wilson

Karla Rojas is a Mathematics Professor at Sacramento City College (SCC). As an undocumented student, Karla had difficulties navigating the school system, particularly college. Karla uses her experiences to guide her mathematics courses to make mathematics anti-racist and more accessible. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Education from the University of California Davis. She then earned her Masters' in Mathematics at San Francisco State University.. Karla currently serves as the Coordinator for the STEM Equity Success Initiative (SESI) Professional Learning Community (PLC), the Academic Senate, and the District-Wide Equity- Task Force at SCC.

Jesus Solorio, Chicano was born and raised in Los Angeles by migrant parents from Michoacán, Mexico. He earned his Masters degree in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Community Mental Health from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2012 and is currently a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist employed at Kaiser Permanente In Oakland. His work is trauma informed, strength-based and is infused with indigenous worldview and spirituality. His work is highly influenced by La Cultura Cura, indigenous and cultural healing practices, cultural identity development, the wellness and recovery model, liberation psychology, community-defined praxis and is trained in EMDR.

Karin Spirn earned her PhD in English from the University of Michigan and has served as an English instructor at Las Positas College in Livermore, CA since 2005. In addition to being a passionate advocate for linguistic justice and anti-racist education, Karin also runs a nonprofit that provides self-defense and martial arts training to communities in need in Oakland, CA.

Fabiola Torres is an online Ethnic Studies professor at Glendale Community College and a Puente Trainer. Fabi offers professional development workshops and keynote presentations focussing on applying equity-minded methods such as culturally responsive teaching in the online environment, humanizing online teaching and learning and Ungrading practices. Her teaching principles are inspired by her M.A. in Chicana/o Studies from California State University, Northridge & her second M.A. in Learning Technology from Pepperdine’s School of Education and Psychology.

Abby Wills, MA has dedicated over twenty years to integrating mindful practices for social emotional health into a wide diversity of school settings through direct service to learners and educators throughout the U.S. and internationally. Abby is Co-Founder and Program Director of Shanti Generation, a digital media company specializing in mindful yoga for early adolescents. She has written, directed, and produced top-selling teen programs including Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers. She serves as Movement, Mindfulness + Social Emotional Development Specialist for Full Circle Consulting Systems.

Afifa Zaman is a Student Success Supports and Programs (SSSP) counseling faculty member at MiraCosta College serving students who experience college probation and dismissal. After graduating from San Diego State University with a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies, Afifa earned a master's degree in Multicultural Community Counseling from SDSU’s Community-Based Block program. She is a first-generation college graduate who celebrates her refugee background and Afghan heritage.