I am a Ph.D. candidate in Media Studies at Western University (Canada). I hold a Master’s degree in Hispanic Studies from the same university, a specialization in Multimedia Communication, and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from Autónoma de Manizales University (Colombia). For more than 13 years, I have explored the intersection of digital humanities, new memory ecology, and collaborative design through the creation and conceptualization of digital artifacts for cultural institutions. My work is deeply rooted in research-creation, which I use to address complex cultural and historical contexts. Since 2016, I have worked as a consultant in Human-Centered Design in Colombia, collaborating with institutions such as the Colombian Truth Commission, the National Library of Colombia, the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, and the Digital Musical Archive of Palenque.

As a Research Assistant for the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project over the past three years, I have contributed to various initiatives, including gathering, translating, and transcribing testimonies related to the Salvadoran Civil War. I have also facilitated workshops on Creative Commons and designed newsletters and editorial content for the project. My work has resulted in significant publications, including a forthcoming book chapter on my work at the Centro Arte para la Paz, titled “Integrating Human-Centered Systems Design into Libraries' Digital Ecosystems,” which will appear in the book Libraries, Archives, and Digital Humanities.

In my doctoral dissertation, supervised by Dr. Amanda Grzyb and Dr. Sarah Smith,  I aim to integrate three major projects in which I participated during fieldwork. Together, these projects form the core of my approach to Research-Creation, demonstrating how digital and analog encounters can shape community-driven archives, digital media, and editorial content, offering innovative ways to memorialize and address historical contexts:

1. Digital Music Archive: As a Research Assistant, I collaborate with principal investigator Dr. Emily Adams and Ph.D. candidate Joel Martinez to investigate music as a cultural expression during wartime in El Salvador. My research focuses on creating memorial encounters through counter-archive practices and digital archiving methods, contributing to the design of the digital music archive platform.

2. Women’s Associations Committee of Chalatenango: I collaborate with postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Adriana Alas, and the Surviving Memory Women’s Committee, applying Design Thinking to develop the visual identity for the project Women’s Stories Written by and for Women. I lead participatory design workshops to ensure that the women’s stories are documented in ways that reflect their voices and experiences. The resulting newsletters feature personal narratives on themes like self-esteem, women’s rights, and violence against women in post-war El Salvador. My role was pivotal in interpreting the committee’s vision and translating it into an accessible and empowering medium.

3. Martyr's Book in Arcatao: In collaboration with postdoctoral researcher Adriana Alas and the “Comité de Memoria Histórica Sobrevivientes de Arcatao,” I serve as both a designer and facilitator for the Martyr's Book project. This collaborative design initiative memorializes the community’s martyrs. Through participatory design sessions, I worked alongside community members to collect testimonies and ideas, guiding the creative process to ensure that the book’s visual identity and layout reflected the community's wishes and honored their historical memory. Throughout, I emphasized digital empathy and collaboration in the design process.

In addition to my academic contributions, I am deeply committed to Digital Humanities communities in Latin America, as a part of the principal committee of Digital Humanities network of Colombia (RCHD), and a member of the Digital Humanities Network subcommittee (RedHD- Mexico).

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