Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias
Institute for Regional Studies of the CaliforniasDr. Ganster is a social scientist with a specialty in Latin America. His initial years of research and writing were in the area of Latin American social history. For the past 20 years, his efforts have been directed toward policy questions of the U.S.-Mexican border region and the comparative study of border regions around the world. Ganster's current research interests include border environmental issues, transborder governance issues, comparative border studies, and sustainable development in the border region. He serves on a number of regional advisory boards for organizations dealing with the border region. He is the current Chairman of the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy. In addition to teaching at San Diego State University, Dr. Ganster has been a visiting professor at the School of Economics of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Tijuana. He is also Associate Director of the Office of International Programs at San Diego State University.
As the Administrative Coordinator at IRSC, Bertha Hernández is responsible for maintaining the Institute's financial records, preparing budget projections, and working with the Director to determine feasibility of project expenditures. She is also the Associate Editor for IRSC’s publications program, which includes proofreading, copyediting, and/or translating manuscripts accepted for publication. She organizes local/national/international meetings, conferences, and other public forums. She also coordinates a guest library user program that allows faculty from the Autonomous University of Baja California to use SDSU’s library services. In addition, she supervises the environmental training workshops that IRSC organizes and holds for the California Environmental Protection Agency. Hernández is also responsible for hiring and supervising student assistants, as well as overseeing the Institute in absence of the Director. She serves as the principal translator (Spanish and English) for the Institute and has had several translations published. She has B.A.s in Journalism and Mexican American Studies, as well as a Certificate in Translation Studies from SDSU. Her e-mail address is bhernand@mail.sdsu.edu.
Angélica Villegas is a researcher at IRSC. She was an exchange student at CETYS Universidad in Tijuana, Baja California, and at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. She completed a B.S. in Economics and a B.A in International Business with an emphasis in Latin America and Spanish at San Diego State University. She is responsible for coordinating and conducting research for the San Diego-Tijuana Regional Quality of Life Indicators Project, aiding with translations, and conducting research for other IRSC projects. Her research interests include economic and sustainable development in border urban areas, urban river restoration, cross-border cooperation, harmonization of binational indicators, and public perceptions on the quality of life. Her special interests include organization of events that will lead to a better understanding of cultural differences and similarities in the San Diego-Tijuana region and community work for low-income communities and the elderly in San Diego and Tijuana. Her e-mail is avillegas@projects.sdsu.edu.
Katherine Comer is the Research Coordinator for IRSC. Current projects include helping create a Binational Vision for the Tijuana River Watershed, and establishing an industrial pretreatment sampling and monitoring program for the Baja California border region. In addition, she has designed and maintains some of IRSC's project websites. Ms. Comer earned a M.A. in Geography from SDSU and B.A. from UCSD in psychology and Spanish literature. Past work experiences include a case study on avian biodiversity in Catalonia, Spain, working as an educator and keeper for the San Diego Zoological Society, and an Agricultural Extension Agent for the Peace Corps in Honduras. Her research interests include GIS, web design, watershed analysis, binational environmental issues, and habitat suitability modeling for endangered species. Her email is kcomer@projects.sdsu.edu
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Last update August 31, 2004