Dionne Espinoza, Ph.D. is Professor in the Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research and teaching interests center the voices, archives, and critical theories of women of color writers and activists in social movements from the sixties to present with an emphasis on Chicana feminist thought and activism. She is currently revising her book manuscript Bronze Womanhood: Chicana Activism and the Chicano Movement Narrative. In addition to essays on Chicana literary studies, youth culture, and Chicana activism, she has co-edited two books: Chicana Movidas: New Narratives of Women’s Activism and Feminism in the Movement Era (co-edited with María Cotera and Maylei Blackwell, University of Texas Press, 2018) and the award-winning Enriqueta Vasquez and the Chicano Movement: Writings from El Grito del Norte (with Lorena Oropeza, Arte Publico Press, 2006).
She joined Cal State LA as a faculty member in Chicano Studies (2002-2007) and then held a joint appointment in Chicana (o) and Latina (o) Studies and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (2007-2017). She was the founding Director of the Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (2014-2017) and has also served as Director of the Center for the Study of Genders and Sexualities (2004-2008, 2018-2019). As Director of CSGS she co-founded the Annual Student Research Conference, “Gender, Sexuality, and Power" in 2005. In 2018, she received the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award.