Dr. Elena Foulis is a student-centered educator with over 15 years of experience in higher education. She holds B.A and M.A degrees in Spanish and Latin American Literature and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies. Her research and teaching interests include U.S. Latina/o literature, Spanish for Heritage Learners and Oral History. Foulis is an engaged scholar and is committed to reaching non-academic and academic audiences through her writing, presentations and public humanities projects. Her e-books, Latin@ Stories Across Ohio and Mi idioma, mi comunidad: español para bilingüe, have given her students key resources for understanding our Latina/o community’s rich heritage, and the complexity and diversity, and sometimes, structural and systematic inequalities that this community faces. She is also host and producer for the Ohio Habla podcast. Dr. Foulis also serves as Commissioner for the Ohio Latina Affairs Commission.