Backed by decades of professional experience in education and creative publication, Dr. Carmen Tafolla is a recognized author, scholar, and presenter.
SAN ANTONIO, TX, October 29, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Carmen Tafolla, Ph.D. has been inducted into Marquis Who's Who, based on her many publications, international presentations, and prominence in the fields of literature and education.
Backed by decades of professional experience in education and creative publication, Dr. Tafolla is a recognized author, scholar, and presenter. The author of more than 30 books in various genres, including poetry, short stories, essay, historical research, and books for children and young adults, Tafolla is currently the President of the Texas Institute of Letters. Named the first City Poet Laureate of San Antonio (and of any major city in the state of Texas) by Julian Castro in 2012, she conducted more than 300 programs in her two-year term in this position, and in 2015 became the State Poet Laureate of Texas.
After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972 and Master of Arts in 1973 from Austin College, Tafolla was named Director of the Mexican American Studies Center at Texas Lutheran College (now University), the first Chicana to hold a Mexican American Studies Director position in the nation. Subsequent positions included Coordinator of Multimedia Parent Training Packages at Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Head Writer at Sonrisas children's television series (KLRN-TV), Associate Professor of Women's Studies at California State University Fresno and Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Diversity Programming at Northern Arizona University. She served on the faculty of numerous universities throughout the Southwest, and from 2000 to 2006 served as co-founder and Head of School for the San Antonio Gifted Education Foundation, establishing a school for gifted and creative children. In 2006 she began teaching at the University of Texas San Antonio, and currently holds the title of Professor Emerita in Bicultural Bilingual Studies.
Tafolla's first non-student publication was in 1975, in the middle of the Chicano Movement's literary and artistic explosion of creative production. She began to be published in anthologies throughout the nation, and is today one of the most anthologized of Latina writers. Her work has been published in English, Spanish, German, French, and Bengali, and has appeared in magazines, journals, newspapers, college textbooks, "Big Books" for elementary classrooms, posters on city buses, and engraved on museum walls. She has presented her one-woman theatrical show throughout the Americas, Europe, and New Zealand.
Among her many recognitions are the Americas Award, five International Latino Book Awards, two Tomas Rivera Book Awards, the Charlotte Zolotow Award for Best Children's Picture Book Writing, the Art of Peace Award for writing which promotes peace and human understanding, and the Top Ten Books for Babies.
Dr. Tafolla is a member of the Academy of American Poets, President of the Texas Institute of Letters, and co-founder of CantoMundo, a national organization for the community of Latinx poets. Recognized by the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies for works which "give voice to the peoples and cultures of this land", Tafolla credits her literary inspiration to "ancestors whispering over my shoulder" and her success to the supportive and multicultural community around her. Of her performances and motivational speeches, she says her purpose is to present the beauty, the value, and the strength of Mexican-American culture and of human cultures in general, so that others may discover and celebrate all cultures, including their own, and thereby realize the power and the treasure of diversity.
About Marquis Who's Who®
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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