Jesus Villa

Originally from New Mexico, Jesús began his undergraduate career at Arizona State University in 2007. He graduated in 2011 with a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Religious Studies. He worked for two years as a forensic death investigator and forensic anthropology and odontology lab technician for the Maricopa County Office of the Medial Examiner before returning to ASU in 2013 to pursue his Master’s degree. Jesús graduated in 2016 with an MA in Anthropology of Religion; his thesis, "African Healing in Mexican Curanderismo," focuses on the West African ritual and ethnomedical contributions to curanderismo, the traditional healing art of Mexico and the Southwestern United States. His current research focuses on thanatology: the study of death & dying in a cross-cultural perspective and in the contexts of borderlands, borders, and bordering. In his dissertation research, Jesús examines the complex dialectical relationship between forensic science work, the organizational cultures and behavioral environments of forensic science centers, and holistic health and well-being among forensic science professionals in a post-9/11 and post-"Prevention Through Deterrence" borderland world.

Jesús has served the ASU community as a Success Coach and Coordinator, Sr. with the ASU First-Year Success Center; an Academic Success Advisor for the School of Molecular Sciences; and a Research Assistant to professors from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. Jesús is currently a PhD Candidate and Faculty Associate for the ASU School of Transborder Studies and an adjunct professor of Anthropology and Archaeology for the Maricopa County Community College District at Phoenix College. He is the Director of Programming and co-founder of the Sonoran Desert Cultural Preservation Society, a 501(c)7 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and celebrating the ancient, historical, and contemporary cultural plurality of the Sonoran Desert. Jesús also volunteers with local groups like the Patiloni Collective, Chicanos Por La Causa, The Cultural Coalition, RealTimeSTEAM, Puente Human Rights Movement, Mass Liberation AZ, and the Arizona Democracy Resource Center.