Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias

IRSC Staff

Dr. Paul Ganster, Director

Dr. 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.

Ms. Bertha Hernández, Administrative Coordinator and Associate Editor

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 an M.A. in Transborder Public Administration and Governance, a B.A. in Journalism, and a B.A. in Mexican American Studies, as well as a Certificate in Translation Studies from SDSU. Her e-mail address is bhernand@mail.sdsu.edu.

Noemí Abasta-Vilaplana, Border Projects Coordinator

Noemí is responsible for coordinating SDSU's interaction with the Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy, a 10-university association of U.S. and Mexican institutions. As IRSC's Border Projects Coordinator, her work includes producing written materials for outreach purposes, helping with the development and funding of applied research proposals, and coordinating and implementing workshops and conferences on binational issues. She serves as the Institute's liaison with community, private sector, and public sector groups involved with U.S.-Mexican border issues. Noemí graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Public Policy and minors in Modern Languages and Film Studies. Her e-mail is nabasta@projects.sdsu.edu.

Reynaldo Rojo, Research Assistant

Reynaldo is an international SDSU graduate student enrolled in the Latin American Studies M.A. program. He was born in Mexico City, where he earned a law degree at Universidad Anáhuac . Subsequently, he worked for Mexico's federal government as Assistant Director of Immigration Enforcement in Baja California. He is a research assistant at IRSC working on a project that focuses on studying the dynamics of waste tire flows across the U.S.-Mexican border, specifically the California-Baja California region. Reynaldo also assists with research on other issues and often attends binational meetings as a representative for the IRSC. His email is rrojo@projects.sdsu.edu.

Last update May 7, 2007