She holds a Ph.D. and M. Phil. in Spanish Literatures and Languages from the CUNY Graduate Center, an MA Spanish, from CUNY City College and a BSW from Temple University. She teaches courses in Spanish acquisition, urban studies, bilingual education and heritage language. Her areas of interest are the Puerto Rican short story and novel, minority languages and cultures in the Caribbean, English-language Latino writers in the U.S.A. and mural art. She is also the founder and editor of a small book publishing company.