Katherine French-Fuller received her degree in Latin American Studies from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. After graduating she interned with the Washington Office on Latin America working on issues related to Cuba. She worked as a travel agent for two years before entering graduate school. Her thesis will focus on gender issues in South America. After graduating she hopes to work for an NGO on the East Coast.

John Andrew Jackson did his undergraduate work at San Diego State where he studied Philosophy and International Business. As an undergraduate he studied for two years in Spain and for nine months in Mexico. After graduating, Jackson lived in Brazil for a year teaching English and learning Portuguese. As part of his research at Berkeley, Jackson plans to compare the political economy and foreign policies of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Lula administrations.

Susie Hicks graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002 with a degree in Anthropology & Spanish. She began her research on Latin America by working with seasonal migrant workers in North Carolina, many of whom were Mexicans working in crab plants and tobacco fields. She wanted to investigate why some contracted migrant workers chose to return to the United States undocumented instead of renewing their U.S. guestworker visas for the next season. Currently she is interested in the effects of immigration and return-immigrants on communities in Guatemala.

Michel Huneault, a native of Canada, received his B.A. in Communications from the University of Montreal and a graduate diploma in Francophone Studies from Paul Valery University in Montpellier, France. Hunnealt has worked on communications projects with the National Protected Areas Service of Bolivia and with international organizations in Montreal. He also took part in a community development project in Cuba and created an NGO in Canada devoted to youth expression through new information technologies. At present his focus is on Truth Commissions; he is interested in the construction, diffusion and use of memory in peace building settings, especially in the Guatemalan case.

Daniel Lavelle did his undergraduate work at the University of Arkansas where he studied English and Creative Writing. After graduation something kept pulling him back to Latin America again and again. Now at Berkeley, his main research interests are sustainable rural development and the inner and outer search for spirit and understanding in Latin America. After the program he hopes to go to Latin America and get his hands dirty in the countryside.

Steven Alan Moore Sanchez graduated from American University in Washington, DC with a degree in International Studies and Spanish and Latin American Studies. After graduation, he participated in a study tour of Cuba that examined Cuban political and economic history and aspects of daily life. He interned at the Washington Office on Latin America and subsequently took on a permanent position as Development Coordinator. In 2002, he left to embark on a six month trip through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. He is interested in indigenous political movements, particularly the response of indigenous groups to globalization and the U.S.-sponsored war on drugs. After completing the program, he hopes to continue working on Latin American political and economic issues and U.S. policy toward the region.

Markus Puhvel attended the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill where he double majored in History and Russian and Eastern European Studies. His interest in Latin America was sparked by his travels through Mexico and Cuba which lasted nearly two years. He spent six months in Cuba studying Cuban music and learning to play the Cuban tres, a folk guitar, in the Sierra Maestra. Before arriving at Cal, Puhvel worked as a musician in Mexico. His research interests are focused on contemporary issues in Cuban music. He is currently conducting a study on Cuban émigré musicians in the Bay Area and plays in the Cuban son band, Palenque.

Nutida Rasrivisuth received her B.A. in Spanish from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She went on to attend the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, where she focused on Hispanic Studies and Portuguese. Rasrivisuth received a scholarship from Thailand to complete her Ph.D. in Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley. Her current research interests are Latin American politics, especially in Argentina. After completing the Ph.D. program, she would like to go back to Thailand and begin a department of Latin American Studies. If she is successful, it will be the first such department in Thailand.

Simeon Tegel received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Warwick, England. Before attending UC Berkeley, he was a journalist in London and Mexico City. In 1998 and 1999, he covered the Pinochet case for the Press Association, the UK’s national news agency. From 1999 to 2003, he worked freelance in Mexico City, specializing in environmental issues. His current research is focused on human rights and environmental policy. After graduation, he will seek work with an NGO that specializes in human rights, conservation or sustainable development.

Trinity Treat graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a B.A. in Women and Development Studies. Afterwards, she traveled extensively in South Asia and Latin America. She spent a year in Bogotá, Colombia as a Fulbright Scholar researching Colombian film. She recently received an M.A. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley and is now part of the Ph.D. program in Latin American Studies. Her current research interests include organic farming, sustainable development and “ecotourism” in Central America. After completing the program she hopes to combine research and application in either an educational or activist setting. Her dream is to begin an organic farm in Belize.

Danilo Trisi graduated from Pomona College with a double major in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and Latin American Studies. A multitude of things attracted him to Latin American Studies. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studied abroad in Fortaleza, Brazil and did his senior thesis on the effects of NAFTA on the welfare of maquiladora workers in Mexico. His research interests include democratization, state-labor relations, leftist experiences of governance and the political economy of globalization. After graduation, Trisi plans to seek a position in a research/advocacy organization that works with Latin America.

Agnes Martha Wierzbicki received a dual B.A. in Political Economy of Industrialized Societies and Cultural Geography from the University of California, Berkeley. Since graduating, she has lived and worked in various parts of Latin America and has taken particular interest in the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean region. She is focused on the social implications of economic restructuring in Cuba following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Benjamin Zadik received his BA. in Writing from Pomona College. He has since worked as a writer at an advertising agency in San Francisco and done freelance creative work. He has always been a travel and language fanatic. As such, he has worked and studied in Japan, Spain, Portugal and, most recently, in Brazil. His current research interest is the Spanish fascination with the pig.

Additional LAS Graduate Students

Daffodil Altan
Rachel Barron
Yahaira Castro
Jason Felch
Beatriz Ferrer-Castro
Nigel Hatton
Christopher Jones
Luis Monterrosa