People
Staff
Louis Pérez
Director, ISA; J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of HistoryPhone: (919) 962-6880
Louis A. Pérez, Jr. is the J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of History and the new Director of ISA. His most recent books include On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture, winner of the 2000 Bolton-Johnson Prize, The War of 1898: The United States and Cuba in History and Historiography, Winds of Change: Hurricanes and the Transformation of Nineteenth-Century Cuba, winner of the 2001 George Perkins Marsh Prize, and To Die in Cuba: Suicide and Society, winner of the 2007 Elsa Goveia Prize. Pérez’s principal research interests center on the nineteenth and twentieth-century Caribbean, with a research emphasis on Cuba. Contact Louis Pérez
Beatriz Riefkohl Muñiz
Associate Director, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and FLAS Coordinator, ISAPhone: (919) 962-2418
Beatriz joined ISA in 2005 after nearly a decade working to strengthen Latin American studies at the University of Chicago and Yale University. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree in Anthropology. At ISA, Beatriz advises students on academic and funding opportunities, manages and develops grant and endowment programs, and oversees the activities of the UNC and Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She volunteers with local organizations working to provide opportunities to Latin American immigrants. Contact Beatriz Riefkohl Muñiz
Sharon Mújica
Public Service and Yucatec Maya Program Director, Carolina and Duke ConsortiumPhone: (919) 962-2414.
Sharon received a certificate in Latin American Studies from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and a B.A. from UNC-CH. She serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the national Consortium of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Programs (CLASP) and chairs the CLASP Committee on Language Teaching. In her years with the Institute and the UNC-Duke Consortium, Sharon has traveled frequently to Mexico and also to Peru, Belize, Cuba, Central America, and Brazil. She lived in Spain for two years and in Mexico for twenty years. Sharon has published materials and curated exhibits on Mexican culture and Yucatec Maya culture and language. Contact Sharon Mújica
Hannah Gill
Assistant Director, ISAPhone: (919) 962-5453
Hannah Gill is an applied anthropologist with a specialization in Latin American/Caribbean migration studies. She joins ISA from the UNC Center for Global Initiatives, where she has worked as a Rockefeller Postdoctoral Scholar, Research Associate, and Adjunct Professor since 2004. At CGI, she co-authored the book, "Going to Carolina de Norte, Narrating Mexican migrant experiences." Dr. Gill’s course "Latin American Immigrant Perspectives: Ethnography and Action" involves an APPLES alternative spring break trip to Guanajuato, Mexico each year. She received a DPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford, England in 2004. She is a native of North Carolina and an alumnus of UNC Chapel Hill. Contact Hannah Gill
Shelley Clarke
Business Manager, ISAPhone: (919) 962-6879
Shelley received an A.A. from Inver Hills Community College in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. She has several years' experience in accounting. Shelley is responsible for departmental management--including travel requests, accounts receivable and payable, general accounting, and equipment and space--as well as other duties. Contact Shelley Clarke
Leila Elmergawi
Program Assistant, ISAPhone: (919) 966-1484
Leila joined ISA in February 2008. She graduated in 2007 from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Japanese Language and Culture Studies. She also speaks Arabic and French fluently, and right now learning Spanish. As the program assistant, she is responsible for technology, databases, and communications at the Institute. She and her student staff also handle routine queries for information. Contact Leila Elmergawi
