10 a.m.-7 p.m. PST
The 8th Annual Ethnic Studies Conference will be held on Wednesday, April 16, at California State University, Stanislaus. This year’s theme, "Inner Work, Public Acts," explores the intersections of community engagement, healing justice, and transformative activism. Bringing together scholars, activists, artists, and holistic practitioners, the conference will feature critical dialogues, creative workshops, and educational panels that bridge wellness and social change.
- Complete your registration by 5:00 p.m. on April 7 to secure your lunch and dinner.
- Free Parking in Lot 8
Conference Agenda
| Time | Format | Activity | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30–10 a.m. | Social | Coffee and Pastries | |
| 10–11 a.m. | Plenary | Land acknowledgement, Opening remarks, Conference layout | Dr. Xamuel Banales, Candice Brings Plenty, President Britt Rios-Ellis, Heather Watson |
| 11 a.m.–noon | Plenary | Keynote | Dr. Jennifer Lisa Vest |
| 12–12:30 p.m. | Plenary | Keynote | Dr. Gloria E. Chacón |
| 12:30–1 p.m. | Social | Lunch | |
| 1–2 p.m. | Plenary | Panel | Billy Lor, Susanna Barkataki, Tere Chimal, Citlalin Vigil |
| Time | Workshop A | Topic | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 - 3:15 p.m. | A1 | Shamanism | Billy Lor | Stanislaus Conference Room SC 104 |
| A2 | Decolonizing Yoga | Susanna Barkataki | Multi-use room | |
| A3 | Transformative Wellness (in Spanish with English translation) | Tere Chimal, Ismael Gonzalez, Citlalin Vigil | Turlock Conference Room SC 105 | |
| A4 | Ancestral Healing | Dr. Jennifer Lisa Vest | Leadership Conference Room SC 103 | |
| A5 | Art the Wisdom of Maya Nahuales | Dr. Gloria Chacon with Victor Manuel Escoto | Board Conference SC 102 |
| Time | Workshop | Topic | Speaker | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:30–4:45 p.m. | B1 | Hmong Shamanism | Billy Lor | Stanislaus Conference Room SC 104 |
| B2 | Decolonizing Yoga | Susanna Barkataki | Multi-use room | |
| B3 (in Spanish, no translation) | Transformative Wellness | Tere Chimal and Citlalin Vigil | ||
| B4 (virtual) | Healing Ceremonies and Plant Based Medicines (in Spanish with English translation) | Dr. Juvenal Caporale, Victor Manuel Escoto, Dr. Javier Perez | Leadership Conference Room SC 103 | |
| B5 | Love-Centered Pedagogies for Healing and Social Change | Melissa Charles | Board Conference SC 102 |
| Time | Format | Activity | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:45–5:30 p.m. | Reception | Dinner | ||
| 5:30–7 p.m. | Plenary | Visual and Literary Arts Panel | Dr. Xamuel Banales, ETHS 436, Rev. Gayle Asali Dickson, Victor Manuel Escoto, Dr. Victoria Banales | |
| 7–7:15 p.m. | Closing | |||
| 7:15–8 p.m. | Social | End |
Meet the Speakers
Rev. Gayle Asali Dickson
Rev. Gayle Asali Dickson is a dedicated, community-centered graphic artist, teacher, and ordained minister raised in Oakland, California. Shaped by the Black Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and the protests following the killing of Little Bobby Hutton, she found herself aligned with the mission of the Black Panther Party. From 1972 to 1976, she served as a teacher at the Oakland Community School and was the only female graphic artist for The Black Panther newspaper, where her illustrations powerfully exposed the realities of a racial patriarchal, capitalist society and revealed truths in American history. Today, her art continues this legacy, striving to foster healing, memory, understanding, and community.
Dr. Victoria Bañales
Dr. Victoria Bañales is the 2025–2027 Watsonville Poet Laureate. A Chicanx educator, writer, and literary advocate, she is the founder of Xinachtli Journal (Journal X), a social justice literary arts magazine. Her poetry and scholarship have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. She is the recipient of multiple poetry and teaching awards, as well as prestigious writing residencies, including Hedgebrook, Storyknife, and Macondo. Dr. Bañales holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Feminist Studies from UC Santa Cruz and currently teaches English composition, Chicanx literature, and fiction writing at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz County, California.
Susanna Barkataki
Susanna Barkataki, M.Ed., C-IAYT, is a renowned yoga leader, author, and founder of Yoke Yoga and the Ignite Institute for Yogic Leadership and Social Change. She trains teachers and leaders to authentically integrate yoga’s ethics, history, and transformative social impact into their practice and teaching. She is the author of the #1 international bestseller Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice and the forthcoming Ignite Your Yoga. Bridging traditional yoga wisdom with modern movements for justice and collective healing, Susanna is an acclaimed speaker who has collaborated with organizations such as Yoga Alliance, Peloton, and CBS. Outside of her work, ask her about finding the perfect chai, balancing your doshas, or how yoga can transform entire communities.
Melissa Charles
Melissa Charles (she/her) is an educator-organizer and teaching artist who writes across multiple genres. She organizes alongside various Pan-Afrikan movements and projects rooted in the pursuit of self-determination, all through a lens of queer, socialist feminism. She is a co-founder and the Minister of Education for Malcolm X Academy for Afrikan Education (@916mxa), a TK–8 militant/liberatory community school on Nisenan land, where she develops and coordinates an Afro-Indigenous-centered curriculum. Melissa finds grounding in Assata Shakur’s poem r/evolution is love and embraces a personal-political “trial and error” practice guided by its message. Most recently, she released a book of poems titled love poems about no one.
Dr. Gloria E. Chacón
Dr. Gloria E. Chacón is Associate Professor in the Literature Department at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on Indigeneity and cultural productions in the Americas, Central American politics and poetics, and Latino and Latin American literary and cultural theories. Chacón's innovative monograph, Indigenous Cosmolectics: Kab'awil and the Making of Maya and Zapotec Literatures (UNC Press, 2018), examines Indigenous literary movements through decolonial frameworks. As a committed scholar bridging disciplinary boundaries, she has co-edited three influential collections: Indigenous Interfaces: Spaces, Technology, and Social Networks in Mexico and Central America (University of Arizona Press, 2019), Teaching Central American Literature in a Global Context (MLA, 2022), and Abiayalan Pluriverses: Bridging Indigenous Studies and Hispanic Studies (Amherst College Press, 2023).
Teresa E. Chimal García
Teresa E. Chimal García is trained in thanatology (the study of death, mortality, and grief) and is the creator of Oráculo Angelical (the Angelical Oracle Deck). She is also a spiritual medium and channeler with expertise in angel therapy, psychic communication, and quantum and transgenerational healing. Through a deep connection with guardian angels and archangels, her therapeutic sessions offer insight into one’s psyche and ancestral lineage while helping to clear emotional blockages and harmonize energy. Teresa’s compassionate approach combines ancient wisdom with contemporary healing modalities, allowing individuals to transform grief into spiritual growth and discover profound connections beyond the physical realm.
Victor Manuel Escoto Sánchez
Victor Manuel Escoto Sánchez is a multidisciplinary artist and professional art restorer based in Mexico City. Their artwork has been featured on the covers of leading journals, including Feminist Formations. As an art restorer, they have contributed to the preservation of cultural heritage at institutions such as the Frida Kahlo Museum, Chapultepec Park, and Templo Mayor—the historic main temple of the Mexica (Aztec) people. Victor Manuel's practice is informed by their grandmother's cultural and spiritual heritage of curanderismo, a traditional and syncretic form of holistic healing deeply embedded in the Americas for generations.
Billy Lor
Billy Lor is a master shaman (Xib Fwb) with over a decade of experience in traditional Hmong Shamanism and spiritual healing. Chosen by his ancestors, he carries on a centuries-old lineage. His path began in childhood, battling ancestral spirit-related illnesses, leading to his initiation and months of rigorous training. Grounded in sacred, time-honored techniques, Billy helps individuals heal, overcome obstacles, and unlock their potential. His spiritual practice offers effective methods for restoration and alignment, and he is dedicated to supporting others on their journey towards well-being and preserving the rich cultural heritage of Hmong Shamanism for future generations.
Dr. Javier Pérez Robles
Dr. Javier Pérez Robles holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Biotechnology. His research background spans the physiology and genetics of marine organisms, biomedicine, and nanotechnology. In addition to his scientific work, he has been involved in community development projects focused on implementing eco-technologies in remote areas. He has also contributed to multiple research initiatives at the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE) in Mexico. Currently, Dr. Pérez Robles’ focus centers on plant-based medicines and their potential to foster both personal transformation and broader social change.
Dr. Jennifer Lisa Vest
Dr. Jennifer Lisa Vest is a Two-Spirit Afro-Indigenous poet, philosopher, healer, and escaped academic who has significantly shaped Native American and African academic philosophies. Her scholarly work includes the monograph Sovereign Wisdom: Generating Native American Philosophy from Recurrent Themes in Indigenous Cultures (Peter Lang, 2024) and numerous publications in prestigious journals such as the Canadian Journal of Native Studies and Philosophical Topics. A prolific poet, her work appears in journals like Tongues and anthologies including The People Who Stayed and Turtle Island To Abya Yala. Dr. Vest holds a PhD in Indigenous Philosophies and Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley, an MA from Howard, and a BA from Hampshire College. After serving as an Associate Professor of Philosophy, she left academia to work as a medical intuitive and psychic healer. As @EthicalPsychic on social media, she organizes the "Dreaming Women" and teaches classes on Medical Intuition, Akashic Records, and Ancestral Medicine for The Shift Network. Her book The Ethical Psychic was published by North Atlantic Books in 2022.
Citlalin J. Vigil de Alba
Citlalin J. Vigil de Alba blends her training in Fluvial Constellations with expertise in Systemic Family Constellations and numerology. Guided by water’s wisdom and symbolic language, she facilitates healing sessions that help to restore balance within family systems, release inner conflicts, and realign individuals with life’s natural flow. Citlalin's unique approach illuminates the complex interplay of emotional and ancestral influences that shape energy patterns on personal, familial, and collective levels. Through this introspective work, Citlalin offers transformative pathways for holistic wellness and healing.
Heather Watson
Heather Watson is a dedicated holistic healer and educator with over two decades of transformative work experience. Holding dual undergraduate degrees in International Communications and Spanish, along with an MBA, she brings a unique blend of academic training and intuitive healing expertise to her practice. Having deep roots in California's Central Valley, she is passionate about addressing generational trauma and takes pride in bringing healing and empowerment resources back to her home region by offering both individual coaching sessions and group classes designed to foster personal growth and holistic wellbeing.
Dr. Xamuel Banales
Dr. Xamuel Bañales is an associate professor and current chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at California State University, Stanislaus. Bañales completed their doctorate degree from UC Berkeley and has authored essays in a variety of anthologies and journals, including: Ethnic Studies Review; Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies; and Feminist Formations.
Dr. Juvenal Caporale
Dr. Juvenal Caporale is an Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies (Chicano/a/x-Latino/a/x Studies) at California State University, Stanislaus. He completed his Ph.D. in Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona; an MA in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego; and an MA in Political Science at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Caporale's research interests include healing, indigeneity, and re-humanization, and his work centers on Chicanx, Latinx, and Indigenous men who participate in restorative justice and transformative justice practices. Dr. Caporale is a Ford, Fulbright, Bilinski, and AAHHE Fellow and he has authored essays and chapters in Aztlán, Urban Education, Routledge, Springer, Sage, and the University of Arizona Press.