Lourdes Gouveia
Arts and Sciences Hall, Room 106
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
(402) 554-3835
lgouveia@unomaha.edu
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Dr. LOURDES GOUVEIA is the director of OLLAS and professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her teaching and research focuses on Latin American migration, US Latino populations, Latin American societies in the globalization era, global development and food and agriculture. Her most recent publications include: "Patterns of Migration: Latin America and the United States" (Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration. London: Wiley-Blackwell. Forthcoming); "Latino Voting Eligibility in Nebraska" (OLLAS Data Brief. March 2011); "The Omaha Site: Migrant Civil Society Under Construction" (Woodrow Wilson Institute. 2010) and "The Research-Policy Gap on Latino/Latino Immigrant Issues: Impacts and New Directions on Social Policy" (Journal of Social Issues. 2010). As a researcher and Director of OLLAS, Dr. Gouveia has secured more than $1.5 million in funding. She sits on the boards of the International Network on Migration and Development, Partnership For Our Kids and the Heartland Workers Center. She has won numerous community and university awards.

Juan Casas
Arts and Sciences Hall, Room 106
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
(402) 554-3835
jcasas@unomaha.edu
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Dr. JUAN CASAS is the interim director (2011-2012) of the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies of the Great Plains and associate professor of Psychology. He is a developmental psychologist with a specialization in the areas of social development and interpersonal relationships. His primary research activities have focused on the study of relational aggression and victimization in different developmental periods. One branch of his research program focuses on delineating the etiology of these behaviors including contributions made by parents, teachers, and peers. More recently, Dr. Casas and his research team have begun to examine electronic forms of aggression and victimization including associations with more traditional forms of interpersonal conflict. Additional research emphases have included collaborative projects with other OLLAS faculty addressing university-community partnerships on work with ICE detainees. This work has centered on creating opportunities for self-expression and the personal growth of the detainees as well as fostering sustained relationships with their families during detention.

Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
Arts and Sciences Hall, Room 275
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
(402) 554-4859
jalvarado@unomaha.edu
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Dr. JONATHAN BENJAMIN-ALVARADO is the OLLAS assistant director for research and outreach and a professor of Political Science. Area interests include: Comparative Politics/Sustainable Development in Latin America, Inter-American Politics, and Latino Politics. Dr. Benjamin-Alvarado received an Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award for the Social Sciences in 2003. Active in Omaha's Hispanic community, he was the president of the board of directors of the Chicano Awareness Center (today called the Latino Center of the Midlands).

Yuriko Doku
Arts and Sciences Hall, Room 106
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
(402) 554-3835
ydoku@unomaha.edu
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YURIKO DOKU is the project coordinator for the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies of the Great Plains. Yuriko holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and her areas of interest are social demography and labor economics. She worked closely with Census 2010 data, and continues assisting the OLLAS faculty and staff in the creation of OLLAS reports.

Christian Espinosa
Arts and Sciences Hall, Room 106
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE 68182
(402) 554-3835
cespinosatorres@unomaha.edu
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CHRISTIAN ESPINOSA is the OLLAS research and community engagement associate. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Universidad Tecnológica de México and he is currently working on his Master’s thesis to obtain a Master of Arts in Sociology. His areas of interest are Latino migration and integration, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and he works closely with Census 2010 data.