Angelina Cotler
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Alumna
GRID Minor, 2005
Ph.D. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, 2005

Current Position

Director of Membership and Development, Latin American Studies Association (LASA)

What is the focus of your current work and/or subject of your current research?

My current work requires me to be engage in different roles. LASA is the only international association focused on the study of Latin America. It has more than 12,000 members from all over the world- from faculty, students, and researchers. In my role, I develop and monitor programs for our members- from research and travel grants to workshops. I coordinate the organization of our annual Congress in a different city in the world. For that occasion, I coordinate the work of committees to select eleven different book awards, research awards and lectureships, and I coordinate the organization of a Latin American festival. At the same time, I produce a bi-monthly live streaming Facebook discussion program about current issues on Latin America with guests from around the world.

How has your GRID minor helped you in your career?

The GRID minor was fundamental by teaching me cross-cultural gender issues. By working with men and women from all over the world on a daily basis it helped me to be aware of the different gender issues and challenges, as well as power dynamics within social relations.

Do you have any advice or suggestiosn for current GRID students?

I would recommend to any student in any field to learn about gender issues for the benefit of the professional as well as personal life. The GRID minor offers you the tools to tackle gender issues on the workplace and prepare you for interpersonal relations.

How can we learn more about your work through social media?

LASA website : https://lasaweb.org/en/

Video about a program I develop in LASA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSPiGt2fSio

Promotional Video about the Facebook Program I produce https://www.facebook.com/LatinAmericanStudiesAssociation/videos/924474661232978/

Twitter account angelina.cotler