DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE

Julia is a Spanish professor who teaches across a wide range of proficiency levels and specializes in creating tailored courses for Spanish Heritage Speakers and Experiential Learning. She designed the Spanish for Heritage Speakers Track at the University of Iowa before joining Northwestern University, where she serves on the Placement Committee as a certified tester and rater for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). One of her key accomplishments is the creation of Del cafetal al futuro, a digital archive that captures the unique dialect of the coffee zone in her native Puerto Rico, along with the well-regarded service-learning textbook Amigos de la comunidad: Curso de aprendizaje-servicio en español. Her scholarly work extends to book chapters and articles published in reputable national and international journals, including Borealis – An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics.

Julia is currently piloting an Open Educational Resource (OER) for Advanced Spanish Heritage Speakers, supported by an OER Faculty Grant and a Hewlett Fund for Curricular Innovation Grant. She also completed the Spanish translation of Associate Professor Emerita Irma Olmedo’s Tales from the Barrio and Beyond, highlighting the Puerto Rican diaspora in the US. Her commitment to promoting Spanish as a heritage language and advancing service-learning initiatives is evident in her participation in the IV Semana de la Lengua Española en Estados Unidos y Canadá, in collaboration with UNAM, and in her podcast contributions.

In addition to her teaching and research, Julia plays an active role in academic service and governance. She represents her department in the Faculty Senate, serves on the Learning Technology Advisory Committee (LTAC), and coordinates the Spanish for Heritage Speakers Track. Her engagement with students is recognized through her involvement in the Students' Affairs Senate Subcommittee and her fellowship at the Willard and the International Studies Residential Colleges. Additionally, she serves as the advisor of the Latin Music Ensemble.

Julia has chaired the 5th Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language and edited a special issue of the Hispanic Studies Review focused on the same topic.

She is also co-chairing the 12th Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language, which will take place at Northwestern University on May 12-14, 2025.

Julia earned her Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), specializing in Sociolinguistics and Phonology.