Mirta Paola Leon, from Peru, is a doctoral student in Social Work and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Her research is on Gender Relations, Women's Agency and Domestic Violence in the Peruvian Highlands. She will be conducting preliminary research on the beliefs, attitudes, and responses toward domestic violence in a rural community of the Peruvian Andes as well as exploring the resources available to the community to confront this problem. Ms. León has worked as a Research Assistant with WGGP’s Gender and Human Security project on Latina/o Immigrants in the Midwest as well as with the Hoopeston Migrant Head Start as a Mental Health Consultant. She also worked as an outreach counselor for Rape Crisis Services in Champaign. She spearheaded efforts to develop and publish El Informador, the first Spanish language newspaper for the Champaign-Urbana area. Last year she received a FLAS Fellowship to study Quechua in Quito, Peru. She has received other awards such as the New Leader in Efforts to End Violence against Women Award from the National Organization for Women, the Outstanding Service Provider Award, and an Academic Excellence Fellowship.