Dr. Sara Beaudrie is Director of SILC at ASU and a nationally recognized expert in heritage language education, leading inclusive programs that connect language, culture, and innovation to empower student success.

Born in Protektorat Boehmen und Maehren, Volek grew up in Czechoslovakia, studied in Cuba, and, after the Russian occupation, emigrated to West Germany and to U.S.

In 2006, when the Downtown Phoenix campus opened, Petersen was invited to come and begin the lower division Spanish program and she has overseen the lower division Spanish program since then. She is currently an Associate Teaching Professor.

Vargas has taught courses in photography, silkscreen, Spanish language, culture, and literature.

Rosales' research focuses on Chicano literature and culture with an emphasis on Chicano literary history and Chicano narrative written in Spanish.

Álvaro Cerrón-Palomino's teaching and research interests include variationist sociolinguistics, dialectology, and historical linguistics.