I am a specialist in democracy, race, and decolonization, with over 20 years of experience conducting empirical research in Latin America, Africa, and Western Europe. I was trained in political science, Latin American Studies, sociology, and anthropology at the University of Hamburg (Germany) and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where I studied with some of the most outstanding scholars of the 20th and 21st century, e.g. Marshall Berman, Frances Fox-Piven, Claus Offe, Marilyn Gittell, and Melvin Richter. For a few years, I was mentored by Sandra Harding. I have collaborated and published with some of the most recognized scholars in my field, such as Arturo Escobar, Sandra Harding, Walter Mignolo, Raewyn Connell, Catherine Walsh, Gustavo Esteva, Juliet Hooker, among others. I have published 19 books and over 60 articles so far and served on the PhD and MA committees of close to 100 students. I have been a visiting researcher and fellow at Harvard, the Barcelona Institute for International Studies, the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), the Universidad del Norte (Colombia), the Free University of Berlin, and the  University of Kassel (both in Germany). In 2024, I served as a Fulbright Specialist for the Federal University of São Paulo and in 2022 as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair of Public Policy in Recife. I am the recipient of the outstanding alum award, as well as several other awards and recognitions, such as the outstanding mentor award, from the Florida Education Fund.

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Speaking and Consulting: I consult and offer lectures on the following subjects and disciplines:

Critical Whiteness Studies: Why white men should care about antiracism.

Africana Studies: The African Origins of Democracy. Social Sciences: Direct democratic and egalitarian political institutions from the Global South.

Humanities and Cultural Studies: What we can learn from American and African black and indigenous communities.

Political Theory and Philosophy: Decolonizing social theory.

University administrations: How to decolonize universities and social science/humanities curricula.

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Coaching graduate students: I coach graduate students of the social sciences and humanities in several, crucial, moments of their academic trajectory: how to write, and defend, a dissertation proposal; how to write, and defend, a thesis or dissertation; how to develop a successful research design; how to collect empirical data in countries of the Global South; how to conduct comparative case studies.

 

Coaching international MA and PhD applicants: Given my work experience as graduate director in different departments and universities and my own background as a former F1, J1, and H-1B visa holder, I coach international graduate students seeking admission to PhD and MA programs in political science, Latin American Studies, Africana Studies, as well as sociology, history, and anthropology.