Dr. Mavel Velasco, Chair

Mavel is a native of Bolivia where she was exposed to the Quechua and Aymara indigenous communities, and where she first developed an understanding and the desire to fight for human rights. Mavel maintains strong ties with her native country.  She is a member of Los Libros del Sol an organization that aims to provide better educational opportunities to the indigenous communities of the Isla del Sol, Bolivia.  Mavel was brought up in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual family and has raised two bilingual, bicultural sons. Mavel has traveled extensively around the world and has lived in Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Japan. She moved to the United States during her teen years and currently holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Her doctoral dissertation dealt with feminine archetypes in the literary works of Uruguayan writer Cristina Peri Rosi. As a nationally and internationally known lecturer and writer she has given numerous  lectures on Spanish Literature and Culture and Civilization of South America and has published several articles on Contemporary Latin American Literature journals. She is presently a professor of Spanish at Virginia Wesleyan College where she teaches Spanish language courses and Latin American Literature, Civilization, and Latin American Music and Dance courses.

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