SAAD ALI
Saad Ali is a Canadian-born Pakistani who is a fifth year undergraduate student at Western University pursuing a dual degree in Medical Sciences and Computer Science. He likes to play basketball, read good fiction, and learn more about people. His interest is currently on cryptocurrencies and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as well as workplace optimization. Saad is grateful for the opportunity to work on a selfless project like Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador. With his knowledge of code and his mindset of a pre-med, Saad hopes to make an impact and contribute meaningfully to this project, which in his opinion, is of great importance in understanding history from the perspective of victims.
Chiara Bresciani
Chiara Bresciani is an anthropologist working on time, change, tradition and memory among the Huaves of Southern Mexico, where she has been conducting fieldwork since 2011. In particular, she focuses on the role of conflict and historical narratives in shaping political landscapes, identities and competing worldviews. She has also conducted research in the same region on the electrification through solar energy of a remote community, and on the patterns and determinants of alcoholism. She holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Bologna and a Master in Intermediterranean Mediation from the Universities of Venice, Barcelona and Montpellier. She currently teaches at the Master in International Studies at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, where she is also completing her PhD. She is the project manager of “Raíces de Cultura”, an initiative for the communication of academic research on Latin America in Denmark. As part of the Surviving Memory Project, she works with Vladimir Pacheco on memory and local economic reconstruction.
Jaime Brenes Reyes
Jaime Brenes Reyes is a Ph.D. Candidate in Comparative Literature. The main focus of his scholarly research is fantastic literature and the relationship between narrative, memory, selfhood, and the text. As a founding graduate student member of Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador, Jaime brings his knowledge of literature to projects that assist the preservation of historical memory through the narratives of the people. Jaime has published academic articles and reviews on Latin American literature and culture in INTI, A Contracorriente, Brumal, and the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. Jaime is a Nicaraguan national, and he enjoys coffee, music, and conversations.
GIOVANNI CARRANZA-HERNÁNDEZ
Giovanni Carranza-Hernández is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at York University. Broadly speaking, his research is founded on the philosophical orientation of coloniality and explores issues surrounding migration, race, and citizenship. His dissertation examines the Roxham Road phenomenon, specifically how people's method of entering Canada to claim asylum structures their relationalities with various social services providers and by extension their lived realities in Canada. Giovanni is also engaged in various other research projects that focus on: i) Indigenous women's experience of colonialism in Peru; ii) migrants' pathways in and out of legal status; and iii) Central American's experience of migratory trauma and race in Toronto, Canada.
Yarubi Díaz Colmenares
Yarubi is a Ph.D. student in French Studies (Linguistics) at Western University, Canada. She obtained a Master's degree in Hispanic Linguistics and a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages at the University of Los Andes in her home country, Venezuela. She has been a member of the French Department of the University of Los Andes since 2010, where she has been working both in the area of teaching and translation. Passionate about the linguistic representation of women, she dedicated her master’s dissertation to the analysis of Venezuelan and French press speech in regards to teenage motherhood. Gender linguistic representations are also at the heart of her doctoral research, which is focused on the use of inclusive language among French and Spanish speakers in non-institutional contexts. As a member of the “Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador” team, Yarubi is responsible for Spanish to French and English to French translations of the project’s knowledge mobilization and research-creation outcomes.
VERÓNICA ESCOBAR OLIVO
Verónica Escobar Olivo currently coordinates, assists, and consults on a number of research projects including the Rights for Children and Youth Partnership, the Ryerson (currently undergoing a renaming process) Centre of Immigration and Settlement, and the Picturing Our Realities research project. These projects focus on a variety of themes including memory and belonging of 1.5 and second generations; newcomers' entrepreneurial activity; and newcomer and diaspora youth's protections and rights within education, child welfare, and judicial systems. She holds a Masters in Immigration and Settlement Studies.
Katrina Fenicky
Katrina Fenicky is a third year Psychiatry Resident at Western with a particular interest in PTSD recovery and Emergency Psychiatry. Prior to medical school, she studied History with a focus on International Development and Politics at Queen’s University. Her primary focus was Africa, but following a backpacking trip through South America in 2010, a fascination with the geopolitical landscape of Latin America was inspired. She is delighted and honored to be part of a team as diverse and committed to social betterment as the Surviving Memories in Postwar El Salvador collaborative research initiative.
Giada Ferrucci
Giada Ferrucci is a PhD student in Media Studies at Western University. She holds a B.A .in Economic Development and International Cooperation from the University of Florence, Italy, and later completed an M.A. in International Relations at Aarhus University in Denmark. In 2017-2018, she worked in El Salvador as an intern for CRIPDES – The Association for the Development of El Salvador, and first joined the team of Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador. While living in San Salvador, she participated in several activities focused on environmental activism and also became interested in El Salvador’s history and the difficult legacy of the 12-year civil war. Her doctoral research focuses on the environmental and economic challenge that water represents for the actuality and future of the country.
Maria Laura Flores Barba
María Laura Flores Barba is an art historian with a B.A. from the University of Guadalajara and an M.A. from UNAM, both in Mexico. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies at Western University. Her main research is on Mexican colonial painting with a focus on local artists. She has taught Art History to students of restoration and conservation in Mexico and Spanish at Western University. Her interests are wide in range, as she has worked as a coordinator of a gender studies academic journal, curator of exhibitions, and manager of a bookstore. She enjoys knitting and has knitted for charity and designed knitted costumes for a children’s play.
MARÍA ANGÉLICA GONZÁLEZ
María Angélica González is completing her first year of the Master of Music program at Western University with a focus on viola performance. María participated in El Sistema in her home country, Venezuela, and later obtained a bachelor’s degree in Music at Western Illinois University. During her studies at Western Illinois, she performed with the university’s President’s International String Quartet, the Symphonic Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra. María’s research focuses on musical works of women who were silenced and undervalued in the beginnings of classical music by the misogynistic structures of that time. She is currently part of the teaching team of Professor Sharon Wei, the Symphonic Orchestra of Western University and she works as chamber musician and member of the opera production team at Don Wright School of Music (Western University). María provides translations and transcriptions for the Postwar El Salvador project and she is developing our catalogue of songs created by survivors of the civil war in El Salvador.
JESSICA LARIOS
Jessica Larios is a second year Social Science student at Western University. She is currently studying Psychology and Political Science looking to understand the connection between the cognitive processes of an individual and the processes in the systems they reside in. Jessica’s both parents immigrated due to the Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992) which makes her work with the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project deeply personal. She is passionate about fostering growth in the Salvadoran community and strengthening her connection to her Salvadoran heritage. Jessica also holds a strong interest in anthropology, group development and the arts, which makes the interdisciplinary nature of this project a source of great interest and excitement.
Talia Mendez
Talia Méndez, also known as "Tata", is a digital creative. Her curiosity has marked her professional career and has led her to explore the relationship between multimedia communication, design, and digital humanities as the roots of creativity. She has worked as a consultant for libraries, museums and historical memory projects, including the National Library of Colombia and the Colombian Truth Commission. She is currently a PhD student in Media Studies at Western University, where she is pursuing research about women’s experiences of the Salvadoran Civil War in a project called Women 2022: Creation of Digital Memories to Transmit to the Present. She has a degree in Industrial Design (Colombia), a specialization in Multimedia Communication (Colombia), and a master’s degree in Hispanic Studies (Canada).
Nyren Mo
Nyren Mo is an undergraduate student in Media, Information and Technoculture at Western University, and will pursue his graduate study in Master of Media in Journalism and Communication program at Western in fall 2021. With strong interest and skills in media production, Nyren has been working with the Western Gazette as Video Producer for volumes 114-115 and was Story Producer for a reality tv program on Discovery Channel Southeast Asia in 2019. Nyren develops production experiences in various video genres including news explainer, streeter interview, documentary and other entertainment content. Nyren joined the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador team as a research intern in the summer of 2021 as the recipient of an Undergraduate Student Research Internship (USRI) award.
Luis Jaimes-Dominguez
J. Luis Jaimes-Domínguez is a Ph.D. candidate in the Hispanic Studies program at Western University. He holds an M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and International Development from the University of Guelph. His research interests are related to Latino-Canadian literature, testimonial narratives, collective memory and identity. He joins the project on the Salvadorian Civil War (1979-1992) to collaborate in, and learn from, workshops related to resettlement stories from refugees and exiles, their oral history and memory, and their impact in the continuing construction of Salvadorian identity.
Christine Park
Christine Park is an undergraduate student in the Media Public Interest program at the University of Western Ontario. In February 2020, she had the opportunity to participate in a week-long study abroad trip to El Salvador as a part of a student learning delegation. During this trip, she witnessed and learned more about the history of El Salvador and its environmental activism initiatives directly from Salvadorian community leaders. Christine joined our team in 2020 as a summer research intern through Western University’s Undergraduate Student Research Internship (USRI) program, conducting archival reserach and developing a database of U.S. newspaper reports about the Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992). She continues to work for the project as a video editor for our massacres mapping project. She joins this project to work under Amanda Grzyb as an archival research assistant to analyze and generate a database for U.S. newspaper reports about the Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992). She will also work to create a visual representation of stories, events, and Salvadoran identity through Story Mapping.
Fátima Perez
Fátima Pérez is a sociologist, majoring in the sociology of education at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. Her current research focuses on graffiti, particularly on latrinalia, the graffiti found in public restrooms. She has volunteered with the SSJV (Jesuit Service of Young Volunteers) at the Tarahumara region in Mexico, teaching elementary school to Indigenous children. She has worked with the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador research initiative team since 2018, leading workshops focused on the departure and return to El Salvador and women’s wartime experiences. She is currently completing an M.A. in Hispanic Studies at Western University and researching the role of women combatants in the Salvadoran civil war.
Sananda Sahoo
Sananda Sahoo is a Ph.D. Candidate in Media Studies at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University. Her doctoral research explores mob violence, public space, and digital infrastructures. Her previous research includes political posters and platforms, questions of collective responsibility, sites of violence in the digital sphere, and colonial narratives in photographs and memoirs by women. She holds an MPhil in English, an MA in Journalism, and an MA in English. She also has extensive experience as a radio and newspaper journalist in the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Abhi Ashok Shetty
Abhishek Shetty, also known as “Abhi,” was born and raised in Bahrain. He is a Teacher Candidate at the Faculty of Education at Western University. His educational experience is spread across three countries (Bahrain, India, Canada) and two continents (Asia, North America). He holds a BA in English Literature and Psychology from the University of Mumbai and later completed an MA in Education Management from the Indira Gandhi National Open University. His professional experience is in the Education Sector. He has six years of experience working as a research associate in this sector for organizations like the American School of Bombay and the Consilience Education Foundation. He was given a Junior Research Fellowship by the Government of India in 2019 to conduct postgraduate research in the field of education between 2019 to 2022. His career objective is to add value as an educational professional through his capacity as a teacher, researcher, and educator. As a research assistant, Abhi conducts archival reserach and assists the team with the creation of education guides in this project.
past students and trainees
Marithza Andagoya (2017-2019)
Marithza Andagoya was a founding member of the team during her tenure as a graduate student of the master’s program in Hispanic Studies at Western University. She is now our Project Coordinator. You can read her bio here.
Beatriz Juárez (2017-2020):
Beatriz Juarez was a founding member of the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador team during her tenure as a Ph.D. Student in Anthropology at Western University. She is now an assistant professor at Carleton University and a co-applicant on our team. You can read her bio here.
Diego Gonzalez (2020)
Diego Gonzalez was born in Santa Tecla in El Salvador and migrated with his family to London, ON in 2002. He completed his B.A. in English Literature at Western University. He is interested in both Salvadoran and Canadian literature, but is also interested in finding connections in literature from across the globe. His role in the project has involved transcribing the testimony of survivors. In 2020, he participated in a field course to learn about the state of water security in El Salvador and the surrounding region, as well as the legacy of the civil war. He is currently completing his M.A. in Hispanic Studies at Western.
Mary Carmen Vera Lopez (2017-2019)
Mary Carmen Vera is a Mexican scholar who completed her PhD in Hispanic Studies at Western University in 2021. Her research interests include Iberian Medieval literature, popular culture, women’s writing and memory. While she was a graduate student at Western, she collaborated with the team on transcriptions and translations. She viewed her work on the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project as a way to tend to the bridges between academia and community, and it was a rich and moving experience in her professional and personal life. She lives in Mexico City.
Gabriela Ocadiz Velazquez (2017)
Gabriela Ocádiz is an active music educator, researcher and scholar. She graduated from the Ph.D. in Music Education in 2020 from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, the master’s in Music and a Kodály certification from Colorado State University in the United States, and the bachelor’s in Music Education from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico. Her research examined pragmatically and philosophically the experiences and practices of music education taking place in Canadian public schools and community settings that provide settlement services to children and youth of immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Throughout her career, she has engaged in interdisciplinary research studies and has obtained an ample variety of professional experiences in Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, the United States, and in Canada, where she currently resides.
KYLA MUÑOZ (2020)
Kyla Muñoz Galarza graduated from Western Univesity with a double major in Health Sciences and Spanish. As the recipient of an Undergraduate Student Research Internship (USRI), Kyla worked for Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador in the summer of 2020 under the supervision of Dr. Felipe Quintanilla. She assisted with the transcription of testimonies and workshops. She also worked with Dr. Quintanilla to translate (from English to Spanish) an article about Salvadoran folk music by Dr. Emily Ansari for The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/covid-19-por-que-en-los-malos-momentos-nos-aferramos-a-la-musica-que-nos-resulta-mas-familiar-139042
Christopher Obieke (2020-2021)
Christopher Obieke is currently an undergraduate student studying mechanical Engineering at Western University. In 2016, he was selected by his high school to participate in the National High School Model United Nations (N.H.S.M.U.N.) conference. During the conference, Christopher and his peers came together to discuss pressing world issues such as addressing droughts in underdeveloped countries. In his spare time, he occasionally makes websites, creates graphic designs, and plays guitar. However, his long-term goal still ties down to his career path which is to improve the automobile industry in his home country of Nigeria. From 2020-2021, Christopher worked as a research assistant for Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador as part of Western’s work study program.
Charu Sharma (2020)
Charu Sharma is a former Western University student, having studied in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies for 3 years. She is now in a second-entry professional undergraduate program at the University of Toronto as a Bachelor of Information student. Charu’s current career goals revolve around doing more research in archival and digital literacy studies. As she aspires to pursue a Master's degree and further a PhD, much of her work experience is research based. In the summer of 2020, she worked as a Research Assistant as part of Western’s Undergraduate Student Research Internship (USRI) program, conducting archival research on the Salvadoran Civil War. Through this internship experience, as well as her previous field study in the El Salvador in a course led by Amanda Grzyb, Charu’s passion and interest in archival studies and community activism has grown. Charu is now working in a new RA-ship at the University of Toronto exploring Narratives, Tropes, and Representation in Modern Information Culture under the supervision of Professor Alan Galey.
Lipika Singh (2020-2021)
Lipika Singh completed her final year of a six-year business and law dual degree program at Western University in 2021. While at Western, Lipika advocated for mental health and women’s rights within the London community. She has also worked with community organizations to make legal information more accessible for abuse survivors. From 2020-2021, Lipika conducted archival research about newspaper coverage of the Salvadoran Civil War and created plain-language guides of legal terminology about war crimes, state violence, and crimes against humanity. Lipik’s work on the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador collaborative research initiative brought together her interest in world history with her passion for social justice.
Ulises Unda Lara (2017-2019):
Ulises Unda was a founding member of the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador team during his tenure as a Ph.D. Student in Visual Arts at Western University. He is now a professor at the Central University of Ecuador and a collaborator on our team. You can read his bio here.