Current Officers:

President

Marisa J. English is a fifth-year Comparative Literature PhD candidate, and her dissertation examines identity construction, disguise, and transformation in 13^th and 14^th century French and English literature. They also received their M.A in English from Purdue. Her additional research interests include queer theory, gender performance, and cross-dressing. She has a passion for teaching and has taught courses covering world literature, queer studies, rhetoric and writing, as well as women’s studies.

Vice President

Diana Torres Arias is a third-year PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and a recipient of the Ross Fellowship. Before coming to Purdue, she taught literature, philosophy, and Latin American studies in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, and in Florida. Her research brings together disability studies, ecocriticism, posthumanism, crip technoscience, queer and crip theory, and the Baroque to explore the intersections of embodiment, aesthetics, and technology across literary, visual, auditory, and cultural texts. She is also interested in digital humanities and languages for the professions, particularly how technology can support language learning. Outside her academic work, she enjoys tending to her plants, hiking, and attending concerts.

Secretary & Newsletter Chair

Lilian Corahua Paredes is a second-year master's student in Spanish Literature at Purdue University, where she teaches Spanish language and Latin American literature courses. Her academic research focuses on Peruvian literature, exploring memory, political violence, and decolonial feminist theory in Andean narratives. Active in the academic community, she serves as President of the Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society chapter at Purdue. Outside of academia, she enjoys traveling, artistic makeup, and theater.

Treasurer

Nami Murakami is a second-year MA student in the Japanese Pedagogy program at Purdue University. Before coming to Purdue, she worked in the Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, where she was involved in teaching Japanese, developing educational materials, and collaborating with local teachers. Drawing from these experiences, her academic interests center on Japanese language education for young learners, oversea Japanese language education, materials development. Her current research investigates how elementary school teachers overseas implement newly developed textbooks and how it impacts their instructional practices. Outside of academics, she enjoys playing volleyball, hiking, and traveling.

Workshop Chair

Ayami Morita is a second-year MA student in the Japanese Pedagogy program. Her research interests include second language acquisition, learner perspectives on language learning, and Japanese language pedagogy. Her current research explores how learners of Japanese conceptualize oral fluency and how their perceptions are shaped by their language-learning experiences. Before coming to Purdue, she earned an M.A. in Japanese Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and taught Japanese at universities and intensive language programs in the United States and Japan. Outside of academics, Ayami enjoys playing tennis and traveling.

Webmaster and Social Chair

Daniel Gaviria is a second-year master student in Spanish Literature at Purdue University. Originally from Manizales, Colombia, he holds a B.A. in Modern Languages from Universidad de Caldas. He is passionate about teaching, learning languages, and sharing cultures with others. His academic interests include Latin American literature, narratives of violence and trauma and science fiction. Outside of academia, he enjoys riding his bike and exploring new places and cultures.

Symposium Co-Chairs

Riley Grasham is a second-year master student in Comparative Literature. His research is centered on post-colonial literature in Italy and Germany post-World War 2, reaching on stories not often advertised for the countries that lost World War 2. He also has interests in education and how technology has and will influence future students and teachers. Outside of classes and academics, Riley enjoys watching and playing sports, as well as driving.

Pranaya is a first-year PhD student in Spanish and Latin American Literature. She also received her M.A. in Spanish from Purdue. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Latin American Literature and Medical Humanities, with a particular focus on illness narratives, medical authority, bodily autonomy and the politics of care and cure. She is also interested in feminist theory and comparative approaches connecting Latin American and South Asian Literature. As a graduate instructor, she is passionate about creating engaging and inclusive language-learning experiences. Outside of academics, Pranaya enjoys hiking, playing basketball, listening to music, and traveling.

Martina Medina is a second-year PhD student in Spanish Literature at Purdue University. She holds a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with a concentration in the Arts. Her research interests include bilingualism, migration, and embodiment, with particular attention to how language, memory, and identity are experienced through the body. She is also interested in language pedagogy and the use of immersive technologies in language learning. Drawing on her background in performing arts and education, she explores creative and experiential approaches to Spanish language teaching, including theater, virtual reality, and project-based learning. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys developing arts-based Spanish programs for children, spending time with her daughter, and running.

PGSG Senator

Amaka Megbulem is a third-year doctoral student in the French department. Filtered through a reproductive justice lens, their research uses diagnostic close reading to examine how Francophone Atlantic and African American literature serve as counter-archives and new epistemologies of care against the backdrop of systemic medical violence on Francophone African and Black women. When asked about their interests outside of work, they encourage people to accept them for the enigma they truly are.

Past Officers:

2025-2026 Officers

• President - Andrés Obando-Taborda
• Vice President - Nick Hale
• Treasurer - Yi-Fang Cheng
• Symposium Co-Chair - Akari Osumi
• Symposium Co-Chair - Diana Torres Arias
• Secretary/Newsletter Chair - Mirei Uchida
• Workshop Chair - Marisa English
• PGSG Senator - Nafiu Olayiwola Oloore
• Webmaster/Social Chair - Natsumi Suzuki

2024-2025 Officers

• President - Sarah N. Jaran
• Vice President - Nicholas Hale
• Secretary/ Treasurer - Akari Osumi
• Symposium Chair - Gwénaël  Jouin Bruno
• PGSG Senator - Nafiu Olayiwola Oloore
• Senate Alternate -  Regina Abu
• PLLS Co-Chair - Gwénaël  Jouin Bruno
• Workshop Chair - Chinaza Justina Egere
• Newsletter Chair - Mirei Uchida
• Social Committee Chair - Santiago Castillo

2023-2024 Officers

• President - Masaki Minobe
• Vice President - Ayaka Matsuo
• Secretary/ Treasurer - Ayaka Matsuo
• PGSG Senator - Roseline Adewuyi
• Senate Alternate -  Regina Abu
• PLLS Co-Chair - Gwénaël Jouin Bruno
• Workshop Chair - Bruno Staszkiewicz Garcia
• Newsletter Chair - Hitomo Kurita
• Social Committee Chair - Anderson Carmona

2022-2023 Officers

• President - Lorena Pena Palacios
• Vice President -
• Secretary/ Treasurer - Ayaka Matsuo
• PGSG Senator - Santiago Parra
• Senate Alternate - 
• PLLS Co-Chair - Dafne Zanelli
• Workshop Chair - Edier Gomez Alzate
• Newsletter Chair - Joel Meredith
• Social Committee Chair - Anderson Carmona

2021-2022 Officers

• President - Daniel Carrillo Jara
• Vice President - Eduardo Huaytan
• Secretary/ Treasurer - Masaki Minobe
• PGSG Senator - Jaider de la Hoz
• Senate Alternate -  Miluska Guzman Ruiz
• PLLS Co-Chair - Snezhanna Pankratova
• Workshop Chair - Laura Solano
• Newsletter Chair - Elisa Camps Troncoso
• Social Committee Chair - Andres Obando-Taborda

2020-2021 Officers

• President - Débora Borba
• Vice President - Sydney Dickerson
• Secretary/ Treasurer - Snezhanna Pankratova
• PGSG Senator - Laura Solano
• Senate Alternate -  Alejandro Rodríguez de Jesús
• PLLS Co-Chair - Emily Delnick & Daniel Carrillo Jara
• Workshop Chair - Eduardo Huaytan
• Newsletter Chair - Rachel Hackett
• Social Committee Chair - Thiago Santos

2019-2020 Officers

• President - Niall Peach
• Vice President - Débora Borba
• Secretary/ Treasurer - Jason Wright
• Senator - Daniel Carrillo Jara
• PLLS Co-Chairs - Zihan Wang (Literature) & Nan Zhang (Linguistics)
• Workshop Chair - Hernán J. Matskevich Rodrígues
• Newsletter Chair - Emily Delnick
• Webmaster Chair - Tyler Gabbard
• Social Committee Chair - Jorge Peréz de Jesús

2018-2019 Officers

• President - Heather Offerman
• Vice President - Bruno Staszkiewicz Garcia
• Secretary/Treasurer - Emily Delnick
• Newsletter Chair: Jason Wright
• Workshop Chair: Mai Takeuchi
• PLLS Co-Chair: James Stratton
• PLLS Co-Chair: Debora Borba
• PGSG Senator: Naill Peach
• PGSG Senator Alternate: Jason Wright
• Webmaster: R. Tyler Gabbard
• Social Chair: Jessica Rohr