Guillermina Gina Núñez-Mchiri

Director of Women and Gender Studies, University of Texas - El Paso

Dr. Guillermina G. Núñez-Mchiri is Director of Women and Gender Studies and an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Núñez received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California Riverside in 2006, her MA in Latin American Studies in 1998, and her BA in International Business in 1994 from San Diego State University. Dr. Núñez-Mchiri began teaching at UTEP since 2004-2005. She teaches courses in Ethnographic research methods; Interdisciplinary Feminist theory and Methods, Anthropology of Food, Gender, and Culture for the College of Liberal Arts and Culture. She also teaches an online course on Death, Dying, and Bereavement for the College of Health Sciences. Her classes incorporate research and community engagement opportunities through service learning. She received the UT Regents Outstanding Teaching Award in 2012.

Dr. Núñez-Mchiri is an applied anthropologist who promotes service learning and engaged scholarship efforts on the U.S.-Mexico Border. She is the academic partner to Wise Latina International, a non-profit organization that empowers Latinas through the arts and entertainment. She is currently Co-Chair for the L.E.A.D. project, an executive leadership program that prepares women with the skills and tools necessary for them to launch projects and initiatives that support the development of Latinas, their families, and community. Dr. Núñez-Mchiri has a 7 year partnership with the City of El Paso’s Park and Recreation Department working with older adult athletes who are seeking to challenge the stigmas of aging through active living and competition in physical activities. She specializes on ethnographic research on the U.S.-Mexico border region and has published on a number of topics related to colonias, immigration and human rights, housing and social justice, Latina identity, Latinas in STEM fields, immigrant youth and education, and the applications of Ethnography and Service Learning in higher education. Her most recent publication addresses women negotiating food insecurity in colonias in the El Paso del Norte border region. She is currently working on a book on Community Engagement and High Impact Practices in Higher Education with Azuri Gonzalez, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, as co-editor.

C2SMART Projects