UF experts on Caribbean-American Heritage scholarship and research
The following University of Florida researchers are available to speak to reporters on a range of topics related to Caribbean-American heritage.
Dania Alexandrino, UF Division of Media Properties Spanish-language news programming manager and Noticias instructor, UF College of Journalism and Communications
Research interests: Caribbean diasporas, Latin American Diaspora, Venezuela and Puerto Rican history and politics
Geographic expertise: Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba
Manoucheka Celeste, assistant professor with a joint appointments at UF’s Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women’s Studies Research and the UF African-American Studies Program
Research interests: Immigration, media and cultural studies, women of color feminist theory, African diaspora
Geographic expertise: Haiti, Caribbean
Lillian Guerra, professor, Department of History, UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Research interests: Caribbean diasporas and Caribbean history
Geographic expertise: 20th century Cuba, Puerto Rico
Benjamin Hebblethwaite, associate professor of Haitian, Haitian Creole and francophone studies, UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Research interests: Haitian Creole instruction and linguistics
Geographic expertise: Haiti
Martha Kohen, professor, School of Architecture, UF College of Design, Construction and Planning; affiliate faculty member, UF Center for Latin American Studies
Research interests: advancing the resiliency of the built environment through the creation of new livability paradigms and the adaptation of the existing urban realms to evolving climate environments, ensuring the prosperity of growing populations; Puerto Rico Re_Start program to help recovery efforts post Hurricane Maria; issues of sea level rise in vulnerable settlements in Florida, the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and the Caribbean Islands
Geographic expertise: Puerto Rico, the Caribbean
Paul Losch, associate university librarian, George A. Smathers Libraries’ Latin American and Caribbean Collection
Research interest: Bibliographic resources for Latin American studies
Geographic expertise: Caribbean
Pedro Malavet, professor of law, UF Levin College of Law
Research interests: Comparative law, critical race theory, LatCrit theory
Geographic expertise: Puerto Rico
William Messina, UF/IFAS Department of Food Resource and Economics
Research interests: International trade, study of Cuba’s agricultural sector to assess economic implications of lifting the trade embargo
Geographic expertise: Caribbean
Paul Ortiz, professor, Department of History, UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Research interests: Oral history, Latino history
Geographic expertise: Caribbean
Tanya Saunders, associate professor, UF Center for Latin American Studies
Research Interests: Sociology of culture, social identity (race, gender, sexuality), critical queer theory/queer of color critique, African Diaspora studies, Latin American and Caribbean studies, coloniality studies, sociology of art, comparative sociology, political sociology, sociology of music, qualitative research methods, sociological theory, comparative sociology, postcolonial studies
Geographic expertise: Cuba, Brazil
Marianne Schmink, professor emerita and distinguished teaching scholar, Latin American Studies/anthropology, UF Center for Latin American Studies
Research interests: Tropical conservation and development, gender and development
Geographic expertise: Brazil, Latin America
Carlos A. Suarez Carrasquillo, lecturer in political science, UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Research interests: Urban politics, gated communities, city marketing/branding
Geographic expertise: Puerto Rico, Caribbean
Jocelyn M. Widmer, assistant scholar and director for online degree programs, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UF College of Design, Construction and Planning; affiliate faculty member, UF Center for Latin American Studies
Research interest: Intersection of urban planning and global health
Geographic expertise: Latin America, Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Haiti