Dr. Ramona Pérez

Biography

Ramona L. Pérez is a Professor of Anthropology at San Diego State University, where she also serves as the Director of the Center for Latin American Studies and the Chair of the Aztec Identity Initiative. With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Pérez's research focuses on issues such as gender empowerment, lead poisoning in rural indigenous communities in Oaxaca, migration from Mexico and Central America, and interpersonal and structural violence affecting women and children. Her interdisciplinary work spans anthropology, geography, public health, social work, criminal justice, and medicine, with publications available in both English and Spanish. Dr. Pérez has held fellowships and research grants from notable organizations, including the Department of Agriculture, the Tinker Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Education. She is an expert in qualitative ethnographic research methods and has published extensively on the use of focus groups in research. Dr. Pérez has also served as an expert witness in asylum courts in Mexico and as a certified expert witness in family courts in San Diego, where her work has addressed the identities of binational youth. Additionally, she was elected president of the American Anthropological Association from November 2021 to 2023, the largest association of anthropologists in the world.

Research Interests