María Elena Bessignano
Assistant Program Manager
María Elena Bessignano received associates degrees in accounting and administration in Mexico City where she worked at the Costa Cruise Lines as an administrative assistant for seven years before joining the ILS/IUPLR team in February 2000. She is bilingual in Spanish and English.

Courtney Craig
Project Coordinator

Andrew Deliyannides
Senior Editor
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andrew Deliyannides received his BA in English from Calvin College and his MA and PhD in English from the University of Notre Dame. He writes and edits manuscripts for Institute publications. Before coming to the Institute in 2007 he worked in the Graduate School, most recently as Manager of Information Technologies, and has taught writing and literature courses for the Department of English.

Fr. Virgilio Elizondo
Professor of Pastoral & Hispanic Theology
Fr. Elizondo is a Professor of Pastoral and Hispanic Theology. His latest book San Fernando Cathedral: Soul of the City (coauthored with Tim Matovina, 1998) breaks new ground both in religious and secular studies; as the author of nine other books, he is recognized in the religious and academic world as ‘the father of US Latino religious thought’. His writings on the interplay between culture and religion, namely Galilean Journey: The Mexican American Promise (in its eighth edition, Orbis Press, 2000), The Future is Mestizo: Life Where Cultures Meet (sixth edition, Colorado Press, 2000), and Guadalupe: Mother of the New Creation (in its third edition within the first year of publication), are widely used in major universities around the country. He has edited Concilium (published in seven languages). Since 1995 he has published numerous articles and has presented over 32 keynotes and special lectures throughout the United States and abroad. Fr. Elizondo has been very instrumental in TV work and video productions and is considered the leading interpreter of US Latino religion by the national and international media. In 1997 he received the Laetare Medal, the highest honor of the University of Notre Dame. Elizondo has also been a visiting professor at various major universities and pastoral institutes throughout the United States and the world.

Maria Elena Estrada
Coordinator - Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives
Maria Elena Estrada is a first-generation immigrant born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She spent her early years in the Valley of Harlingen, Texas. In 1960 her entire family came up north to Michigan as migrant workers in the areas of Decatur and Three Oaks. After one summer her family relocated to Gary, Indiana, and subsequently to East Chicago where they continued to work in the fields during the summers until she graduated from George Washington High School in 1971. After graduation Estrada went to work for Inland Steel Company. Over a 28-year tenure she held various administrative positions until she retired in November of 2002. Unexpectedly, but with delight, Maria Elena chose to lend her talents to the Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives and has been serving as the office coordinator since November 2006.

Maria T. Garza
Assistant Program Manager – Center for Latino Spirituality and Culture
Maria T. Garza has been involved in Church and Hispanic ministry for over 20 years. She has served as executive director for the Midwest Hispanic Catholic Commission (MHCC), a regional office for Hispanic ministry; as associate coordinator for the Midwest Institute of Hispanic Ministry (MIHM), an arm of MHCC; and, before coming to South Bend in 1983, as director of the Lay Ministry Formation Program for the Diocese of Toledo in Ohio. Before joining the Institute in 2000, Garza worked with Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life. She received her BA from Indiana University.

Tracy Grimm
Archivist
Tracy Grimm is head of the Institute for Latino Studies’ Library and Archives at the University of Notre Dame and currently serves as project director for The Midwest Latino Arts Documentary Heritage Project and as project coordinator for the Midwest team of Documents of 20th-Century Latin American and Latino Art: A Digital Archive and Publications Project, administered through the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. She has an MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin with a specialization in archival enterprise and focus in preservation. Prior to joining the Institute, Grimm was a field archivist with the New York State Archives’ Documentary Heritage Program, where she worked closely with not-for-profit organizations to improve preservation and records management of documentary heritage of the region. She also served as archivist for the County and City of Albany, New York, where she collaborated with local teachers on curriculum development using primary source materials. She recently completed a research report, published by UCLA-CSRC, on national efforts to identify and preserve Latino arts archival materials.

Juan Carlos Guzman
Post-Doctoral Scholar - Center for the Study of Indiana Latinos
Juan Carlos seeks to understand the socio-economic implications of an increasing Latino population in Indiana. His areas of interest are labor markets, migration, education, health, and demographics. He holds a PhD in Public Affairs from Princeton University, where he specialized in demography in the Office of Population Research. After obtaining his degree, Guzman moved to Washington DC where he worked in international education for the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and then in the Gender and Development Unit in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network in the World Bank. His recent publications examine the gender gap in the school-to-work transition in adolescents around the world and the impact of remittances on the well-being of receiving households.

Teresa Hayes-Santos
Art Coordinator
Teresa Hayes-Santos began her professional career in fine arts at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB), graduating with a BA in 2008. At IUSB she created student-focused groups promoting the visual arts and was active in organizations supporting Latino culture. A curatorial internship with Gilberto Cárdenas at the University of Notre Dame, Institute for Latino Studies, led to her employment as Art Coordinator at the Institute, where she also serves as liaison to the Snite Museum of Art and to community-based art organizations. Since 2005 Hayes-Santos has curated ten art exhibitions, the majority of them Latino focused.

Olga Herrera
National Coordinator – IUPLR
Olga Herrera is national coordinator for the Inter-University Program for Latino Research, headquartered at the Institute for Latino Studies. She is also a research associate with the US Midwest team of the Documents of 20th-Century Latin American and Latino Art: A Digital Archive and Publications Project and with the Midwest Latino Arts Documentary Heritage Project. Prior to joining the Institute, Herrera served as program specialist and coordinator of the Arts and Culture Program at the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Latino Initiatives. She holds an MA in art history from Louisiana State University and is currently pursuing a PhD in cultural studies at George Mason University. Her research interests include modern and contemporary Latin American and Latino art, and theories of globalization, migration, and culture.

Brett Keck
IT Manager/Webmaster
Brett Keck is a 2001 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a degree in computer engineering. Before returning to the University, he worked for as the head of the Macintosh network for Elkhart Community Schools in Elkhart, IN, and as an instructor at Ivy Tech State College. His current position entails maintaining the servers, creating and editing their databases, creating and maintaining Institute websites, and providing technical support for Institute staff.

Roger Knight
Senior Research Analyst
Roger Knight holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, and he has quantitative research experience in a variety of topics regarding the Latino population in the United States. In 2006 he became a regular contributor to the National Society for Hispanic Professionals’ website. In addition, he has training in qualitative evaluation and research at a large educational institution. Knight has previously held positions in database management and data analysis. His interests lie in research methodologies, particularly in human services evaluation and educational research and, more recently, labor market outcomes and other issues related to Latino professionals.

Idalia Maldonado
Sr. Administrative Assistant
Idalia Maldonado, originally from Crystal City, Texas has been with the Institute since August 2004. With over thirty years of office management experience, she assists with the daily operations of the Institute, student appointments, and course registrations. She is assistant to the associate and academic directors of the Institute.

Don McNeill, CSC
Senior Fellow of the Institute
Don McNeill, CSC, is a Senior Fellow of the Institute and a concurrent associate professor in Notre Dame’s Department of Theology. A Holy Cross priest, in 2002 he completed nineteen years as founding director of the Center for Social Concerns. After receiving his PhD in pastoral theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1971, he worked for three decades with Notre Dame students, faculty, staff, alumni/ae, and national and international sites to enhance experiential and community-based service and justice learning through teaching and programming. He has supported research and writing projects, including coauthoring a book, Compassion, with Henri Nouwen and Douglas Morrison. In August of 2003 Fr. Don moved to the Pilsen area of Chicago and is a member of the Institute’s Metropolitan Chicago Initiative in the area of ecclesial, pastoral, and social concerns.

Waldo Mikels-Carrasco
Research Analyst
Waldo Mikels-Carrasco received his BA in philosophy with minors in Anthropology and Sociology from Indiana University South Bend. He has acquired broad experience in community organizing and policy research in immigrant communities in St. Louis, New York City, Washington DC, and Syracuse. As an ethnographic researcher he has produced social justice-oriented documentary films that have been screened in mainstream international film festivals. His research has ranged from documenting the plight of homeless drug addicts and undocumented immigrants to the process of becoming a social activist to the inverted lifestyles of people struggling to make a living working the nightshift. He is currently pursuing master’s degrees in applied anthropology and public affairs.

Claudia Alejandra Ramirez
Grants Coordinator
Claudia Alejandra Ramirez, originally from Mexico City, received her BA from the University of Notre Dame in May 2003. She attended a British school, grew up in towns along the US-Mexican border, and as an undergraduate she studied abroad in Angers, France. All these experiences have helped her appreciate the richness of many different cultures. Claudia started working for ILS as undergrad and is now thrilled to be a full-time staff of the CLSC unit of ILS.

Maribel Rodriguez
Staff Accountant
After receiving her BA in Economics with a minor in Business Foundations from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995, Maribel Rodriguez was hired by the Center for Mexican American Studies to administer their budget and assist the director. In June 1999 she moved to South Bend to help with the launching of ILS.

Zoë Samora
Assistant Program Manager Publications/Graphic Design
Zoë Samora joined ILS in November 2000. Born and raised in South Bend, she attended Purdue University and received a BA in Law and Society. Her current position entails editing, proofreading, and creating content for ILS and IUPLR.

Katie Schlotfeldt
Assistant to the Director
Katie Schlotfeldt joined ILS in November 2005 as the Senior Administrative Assistant to the Institute Director. Prior to coming to ILS she worked in Notre Dame's Sociology Department for 15 years. Katie is a native of South Bend.

Vickie Wagner
Director of Development
Vickie Wagner, grant writer, has lived, worked and studied in over sixty countries. She received her MA in classroom teaching and curriculum development from Michigan State University. Before joining the Institute she was associate faculty at Indiana University Northwest and taught grant writing at Ivy Tech State College. For seven years she was the tech prep specialist at Purdue University North Central, contributing to an effort that resulted in the largest number of area schools implementing comprehensive school reform initiatives in the state. In addition to prior university administrative duties, she wrote grants for area educational institutions. She is frequently asked to present on issues concerning comprehensive school reform, teaching reading in the classroom/across the curricula, and issues concerning the service industry.