About
Brisa Smith Flores completed her undergraduate career at The Pennsylvania State University. There she worked to earn three degrees, Art History, History, And Global and International Studies, along with three minors in African American Studies, Latin American Studies, and Latino/a Studies.
During her time at Penn State, Brisa was a part of the first class of students to participate in the DC Social Justice Fellowship where she gained pedagogical training to engage high school age students in topics of social justice, empowerment, and resiliency. She participated in social justice training through the Paul Roberson Cultural Center, facilitated workshops on race and self-empowerment as the Co-President of the Black Student Union, and was nominated for the Social Justice Award by Penn State Chapter of NAACP. She also spent her time as a peer mentor through the BLUEprint program, a mentorship program for marginalized undergraduate students.
When studying at UPenn Brisa served as co-facilitator for the Philadelphia Intersectional Feminist Discussion group and served as a graduate mentor for PUENTE, a mentorship program for Latinx students interested in higher education.
UCLA
She works as a Teaching Assistant in the Chicano/a Studies Department, African American Studies Department, Visual and Performing Arts Education Program (VAPAE) and World Arts and Culture.
TA Courses:
CHICANO 188: Blaxicans, Nuyoricans, and Afro-Latinos
AF AMER M5: Social Organization of Black Communities
ART ED 20: Introduction to Community Engagement through the Arts
Research Interests: Identity Development, Identity Politics, Cultural Sovereignty, Decolonization Methodologies, Social Justice, Critical Race Theory, Museum Studies, Cultural Heritage Management, Museum Management.
Research Interests
Her research focuses on cultural sovereignty, identity, and art. She is interested in how art and/or public art spaces can be a mechanism for oppression and developing methodologies to transform them into spaces of liberation. She has worked with major art organizations such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Association of Public Art (formerly known as the Fairmount Park Art Association), and the Dallas Museum of Art. She currently works as the Inclusive Teaching Fellow for the Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
Education
The Pennsylvania State University- University Park
B.A. Art History
B.A. History
B.A. Global and International Studies
Minors: African American Studies, Latino/a Studies, Latin American Studies
The University of Pennsylvania Master of Liberal Arts Certificate Cultural Heritage Management
Master Thesis: “The Art of Ethnic Lynching: the Erasure of the Afro-Mexican from the National Identity of Mexico“
Member of Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc
Member of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honors Society
Contact
Email: SmithFlo@ucla.edu
Social: @BrisaMarie
Website: BrisaMarie.com
Brisa has a YouTube channel to help students interested in grad school. You can find it by clicking here.