Sergio Romero is a linguist and anthropologist interested in the structural and sociocultural aspects of variation and language change. His current work employs ethnographic and philological methods to examine the diachronic development of dialectical variation, its social meaning, and the appearance of pastoral registers in indigenous languages. The majority of his research centers Mayan languages, especially K'iche', Q'eqchi', Kaqchikel and, more recently, Awakateco and Ixil. He has also had publications about Nahuatl and has served as a pro-bono translator for Mayan immigrants in the United States.
Katherin Patricia Tairo-Quispe (ñañay, panay) is a doctorate students at the University of Texas at Austin and indigenous Quechua activist. She was born and raised in Sicuani, a small town in the region of Cusco in Southern Peru. Her mother, father, and majority of her family are native Quechua speakers, however her generation speaks less Quechua due to the historical rejection of and discrimination towards Quechua speakers. During her undergraduate studies in Communication Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad in Cusco, she participated in bilingual radial spaces in local transmissions in her region. This motivated her to be a part of the USAID program for Afroperuvian and Indigenous graduates in which she worked with indigenous communities in Peru. Her interest in social impact motivated her to complete an M.A. degree in Social Management in the Universidad de EAFIT Colombia. Currently as a student of Latin American Studies her interest is to analyze discourse of 'development' in programs and social projects in Latin America from a critical indigenous focus.
Jermani Ojeda-Ludena is an academic and Indigenous Quechua activist, as well as a member of the rural community Puca Puca in the region of Apurímac in Peru. In Quechua the name of his community means Red Red due to the color of the earth. Currently, he is a doctorate student in Iberian and Latin American Languages and Cultures in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. He forms part of the Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) program at the University of Texas and is an integral part in the Quechua Tinkuy collective. His area of interest is the experiences in Quechua communities in methods of communication, particularly in radio broadcasts from the second half of the 20th century until current day. His undergraduate studies are in Journalism in the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco and his M.A. in Social Management at the Universidad Católica in Peru. During his undergraduate studies he was the president of the Quechua, Aymara, and Amazonian Student Association.
Katie Galyon is a PhD student in the department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas studying Spanish Linguistics. Her research is mainly in linguistic anthropology and focuses on contact between Spanish and indigenous languages, primarily Quechua and K'iche'. She is interested in topics of decolonizing, gender, sexuality, indigeneity, and language ideologies.
Kelly McDonough (Anishinaabe [White Earth Ojibwe] and Irish) is a specialist in Latin American literatures, Cultural Studies, and Indigenous Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research areas include Critical Indigenous Studies, Intellectual, Indigenous Histories with en emphasis on Mexico (colonial to current day), ethnohistory (Náhuatl studies), and science, technology, and Indigenous society. She is author of The Learned Ones: Nahua Intellectuals in Postconquest Mexico (2014) and various essays about distinct indigenous methods of communication, conflict between indigenous classes, mapping indigenous narrative, and contemporary indigenous literature in Mexico.
Carl Blyth is the Director of the Center of Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) and Associate Professor of French Linguistics in the Department of French and Italian. He has held several administrative positions prior to COERLL: Coordinator of Lower Division French (1993-2002), Acting Director of Technology, Literacy and Culture (2001-2002), and Director/Asst Director of the UT Summer Program in Lyon, France. He has worked with colleagues on an online reference grammar of French (Tex’s French Grammar), and a multimedia-based first year French program (Français interactif).
Rachael Gilg is the Web Designer for COERLL, developing and maintaining COERLL’s portfolio of online materials for language learning. She studied English and Anthropology at Rice University and completed a M.S. in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She began building websites professionally in 2005, and has developed numerous web-based projects in collaboration with educators, researchers, archivists, historians, and others.
Sarah Sweeney was Project Coordinator for COERLL. She holds degrees in French and Global Communications. She enjoys learning and teaching languages and has worked on marketing, communications, education, and online projects in various fields.
Nathalie Steinfeld Childre was Publications Manager/ Web Developer for COERLL. Previously to moving to Austin, Nathalie studied art history at the University of Zürich and completed an art program at the local art academy. She then graduated with degrees in art history and computer science. She has a passion for art, languages, and cultural studies and creates tailored websites and tools that enhance the student’s online experience with foreign languages and culture.