Welcome to the 2024 Cambio de Colores Conference Schedule! Scroll below to see the timing and titles of the keynote plenaries, workshops, promising practice and research presentations. Click here for a PDF of the schedule with descriptive abstracts (and here in español). All times listed below are Central Time.

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5

12:00 – 1:00 PM           Conference Registration in the Main Street Grill Foyer

1:00 – 2:15 PM              Welcome Plenary in Room DE

Special Invited Guest – Kansas City Mayor, Quinton Lucas

Welcoming remarks

Keynote – Montserrat Garibay (Health)

“Raise The Bar – Creating Pathways for Global Engagement and Multilingualism for All” 

Posters

• “Supporting Latina immigrant moms during their children’s early childhood,” Sophia Piral Lee, University of Missouri-Columbia and Jenifer Rueda Varón, Columbia Public Schools
• “Development of a Multilingual/Language Diverse (MLD) Autism Diagnostic Clinic for Spanish Speaking Families,” Sarah de Marchena, PhD, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment
• “Latinx Sparks of Good Change on AI, Viewer Hate: Netflix’s Salma Hayek Not ‘Sinverguenza‘,” Diana Rios, PhD, University of Connecticut
• “Pocket Therapist as “La Fantasma en La Maquina”: AI Sparks Possibilities for Latinx Communities,” Diana Rios, PhD, University of Connecticut
• “Serving and Supporting Heritage Language Students in School,” John Becker and Christina Andrade Melly, Ritenour High School with Ashley Plancarte and Karen Toledo Herrera, High School Students
• “School effects on low-income students’ enrollment at public universities in the Colombian Amazon Region,” 
  Luis Ricardo Rojas, University of Missouri-Columbia 
• “Voices of Bilingual Brilliance: Unveiling Insights from Latinx Youth on Dual Language Bilingual Education in Elementary School,” Rosie Ojeda, University of Utah

DAY 2 – THURSDAY, JUNE 6

8:30 – 9:00 AM               Continental Breakfast in Room DE

9:00 – 10:15 AM             Morning Plenary in Room DE

Keynote – Dr. Amalia Daché (Community and Economic Development)

“Caminos del Norte: Filadelfia’s Puerto Rican and AfroLatin Cultural Ecología”

10:15 – 10:30 AM            Break

10:30 – 11:45 AM            Concurrent Breakout Sessions

BILINGUAL –> Option 1 in Room ABC: A Discussion with the U.S. Department of Education

• Join Montserrat Garibay to continue the conversation about how to “raise the bar” by using the Family Toolkit (en español y inglés).

Option 2 in Room DE: Research Presentations (Community & Economic Development)

• “Deciphering Destinations: Unraveling the Enigma of Central American Migrants’ Selection of Missouri as a Destination,” Indiana Garcia Torres, University of Missouri-Columbia 
• “Farmworker Recruitment and Community Wellbeing in Ohio,” Isaiah Franco, Ohio State University 
• “New Immigration Trends in the United States,” Marcelo Siles, PhD and Neelima Krishnagiri, Julian Samora Research Institute, Michigan State University 
• “Orange You Glad for Farm Workers? The U.S. Citrus industry adjusts to higher labor costs,” Skyler Simnitt, PhD, USDA – Economic Research Service 

Option 3 in Room Roanoke: Workshop (Education & Youth Development)

• “Missouri Migrant Education Program: Sowing the Seeds of Support for Migrant Students & Families,” Cynthia Chasteen, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia/DESE 

Option 4 in Room Rockhill: Workshop (Education & Youth Development)

• “Promoting Academic and Career Success of Latiné High School and College Students: Evidence-Based Research Programs,” Theresa Torres, PhD and Richard Minaya, PhD, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Iván Ramirez, Latinx Education Collaborative, and Brandon Camacho, University of Missouri-Kansas City  

11:45 – 12:00 PM           Break

12:00 – 1:00 PM             Lunch in Room Seville

1:00 – 2:15 PM               Concurrent Breakout Sessions

SPANISH –> Option 1 in Room ABC: Research/Promising Practices (Education & Youth Development) 

• “Apoyando a las mamás migrantes en el desarrollo de sus hijos durante la primera infancia,” Sophia Piral Lee, University of Missouri-Columbia and Jenifer Rueda Varón, Columbia Public Schools 
• “Educación Superior de Calidad para Todos: Una Propuesta Basada en la Economía Solidaria de Colombia para el Mundo,” Sebastián Concha Vargas, Uniminuto and Pilar Mendoza, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia  
• “Efecto de las características escolares, estudiantes de bajos ingresos y acceso a la universidad en la Amazonía colombiana,” Luis Ricardo Rojas, University of Missouri-Columbia  

Option 2 in Room DE: Workshop (Education & Youth Development) 

• “Creating beloved communities: Depth work lessons from a Latinx-focused curriculum,” G. Sue Kasun, PhD, Georgia State University and Beth Marks, PhD, Kennesaw State University 

Option 3 in Room Roanoke: Workshop (Community & Economic Development)

• “Welcoming as the Bedrock: How Communities are Utilizing the Welcoming Standard to Promote Belonging,” Briana Broberg, Welcoming America 

Option 4 in Room Rockhill: Workshop (Civil Rights & Political Participation)

• “Understanding Your Rights under Anti-discrimination Laws,” Kristy Lambert and Antonio Maldonado, Missouri Commission on Human Rights and Lauri S. Bledsoe, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

2:15 – 2:30 PM               Break

2:30 – 3:45 PM               Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Option 1 in Room ABC: Workshop (Education & Youth Development) 

• “Dual Language Immersion as a form of Language Justice and Educational Equity for All,” Amanda Niedzwiecki, Carver Dual Language School and Olivia Flores, Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts 

Option 2 in Room Rockhill: Workshop (Education & Youth Development)

• “Disruptive pedagogies in ELT: Innovating EFL Classrooms with COIL Modules and Flipped Learning Approach,” Sebastián Concha Vargas, Uniminuto 

Option 3 in Room Roanoke: Research/Promising Practices (Health)

• “Icesis Couture: A queer Latina and entrepreneur in the drag queen business,” Liz Veronica Vicencio, Carleton University 
• “Social Capital and Covid-19 pandemic: The double ABC-X stress model adaption for female minorities,” Jorge Martínez Palomares, University of Missouri-Columbia and Michael Cheang, PhD, University of Hawaii and Corinne Valdivia, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia 
• “Why Representation Matters in Biomedical Research,” Lisa Weaver, All of Us Research Program – Heartland Consortium
• “Ending the Push: How Educators can limit the factors that push English learners out of school”, Alice Garcia, PhD, edCount 

3:45 – 4:00 PM               Break

4:00 – 5:45 PM               Afternoon Plenary in Room DE

Keynote – Migrantes Unidos (Civil Rights and Political Participation)

“The Co-Pursuit of Dignity: How Academics, Service Providers, and Organizers Can Center Immigrants for Equity and Justice” and “Foto Voz” Exhibit

DAY 3 – FRIDAY, JUNE 7

8:30 – 9:00 AM               Continental Breakfast in Room DE

9:00 – 10:15 AM               Morning Plenary in Room DE

Keynote – Dr. Trish Morita-Mullaney (Education and Youth Development)

“Is it Lau or is it Lopez?”– The shared histories of the Asian and Latino diaspora in the development of language rights

10:15 – 10:30 AM            Break

10:30 – 11:45 AM            Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Option 1 in Room ABC: Workshop (Education & Youth Development)

• “¡Aguas! Educated Latinx,” Dawn Martinez and Gabby Guerra, Al Éxito 

Option 2 in Room DE: Research Presentations (Education & Youth Development)

• “Building upon Funds of Knowledge: Using Trauma Informed Principles to Disrupt Educators’ Understanding of Multilingual Families” Ofelia Castro Schepers, PhD and Trish Morita-Mullaney, PhD, Purdue University 
• “Recently-Arrived Adolescents from Guatemala in Rural Missouri: Creating Successful Pathways to Graduation,” Lisa Dorner, PhD and Sophia Piral Lee, University of Missouri-Columbia  
• “Serving and Supporting Heritage Language Students in School,” John Becker and Christina Andrade Melly, Ritenour High School 
• “Voices of Bilingual Brilliance: Learning from Latinx Youth on Elementary Dual Language Bilingual Education,” Rosie Ojeda, University of Utah 

Option 3 in Room Roanoke: Workshop (Civil Rights & Political Participation)

• “Passport to Progress: Improving Awareness of Policies that Impact Undocumented Students,” Kristie Beck, PhD, Savvy Strategies 

Option 4 in Room Rockhill: Research/Promising Practices (Community & Economic Development, Education & Youth Development)

• “Are you Culturally Intelligent?” Gerardo Martinez, UMKC/IHD-MU Extension-ALIANZAS
• “Artists as Community Builders: Establishing the Latin Jazz Institute (US/Chile)” Cynthia M. Ammerman and Pablo Sanhueza, Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra
• “Arts-Based Participatory Research with Refugee Youth: Challenges, Successes, and Potential for Identity Development and Belonging,” Melissa Hauber-Özer, PhD, Viviana Goelkel Garcia, and Emmanuel Umeh, University of Missouri-Columbia   
• “Digital inclusion or digital disillusionment? What is the option for the Latino community?” Gabriel Fumero, Hispanic Economic Development Corporation 
• “Tardeada Mexicana – an evening of family fun!” Val Adams, ParentLINK 

12:00 – 12:30 PM             Closing Remarks in Room DE

Post-Conference Site Visits

*For site visits registrants only.*

12:40 – 4:10 PM

• Site Visit Tours
• Join us on a visit to three inspiring organizations in the heart of Kansas City: The Guadalupe Center, El Centro, and the Latinx Education Collaborative. Guiding our adventure is none other than Edgar Palacios, the esteemed leader (also known as President & CEO) of the Latinx Education Collaborative. As we explore the city, a delectable lunch awaits, generously provided by the Guadalupe Center. Meet us at the hotel lobby at 12:40 PM.