Elena L'Annunziata Monge

Ph.D. Student

Elena is a first year Ph.D student whose research interests include postcolonial, Chicana, and U.S. Third World feminisms, immigration, social movements, food sovereignty and food justice. Previously Elena received her M.A. in an interdisciplinary program titled Environment and Community from Humboldt State University. She holds a B.A. in Critical Gender Studies with a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of California San Diego.

Elena has spent the past 10 years practicing social work at both a micro level (direct services to clients), and at the macro level (community and systems based). In southern California, she was part of a bi-national effort working with the Baja California-San Diego for Freedom From Exploitation initiative to address human trafficking. More recently, in northern California she has transitioned from direct social services and advocacy to using community building and community organizing methodologies in partnership with predominantly immigrant, refugee and tribal communities. This work has allowed her to put theories of race, class, and gender into action, bridging theory and practice.