Meet the Faculty and Students

Researchers for the South Phoenix Oral History Project are faculty, students, staff, and community members affiliated with South Mountain Community College. We are committed to reclaiming and telling the stories of South Phoenix, Arizona.

Since 2017, the list of contributors has grown. Take a look at the founders and the students below, who have championed this project from a small classroom assignment to a major community collaboration.

Faculty founders

Summer Cherland, Ph.D. (Left, with Dr. Paul Elsner)
Dr. Summer Cherland spent her childhood in rural Colorado and moved to Phoenix when she was a teenager. She attended Moon Valley High School – Go Rockets! She lived in Flagstaff for ten years, earning both a Bachelors and Masters Degree at Northern Arizona University. After a short stint as a waitress in New York City, Summer moved to Las Vegas to earn her PhD in History at UNLV, where she studied the histories of the Urban West, the Chicano Movement, the Black Freedom Struggle, and public education. She considers herself one of the luckiest people in the world to get to teach at South Mountain Community College. There, she runs the history program, directs the South Phoenix Oral History Project, and oversees several innovative research initiatives, some of which you will hear about today. She calls herself a student-centered professor, locating students at the command center of learning, research, and scholarship, so don’t be surprised to learn about her students in today’s talk. And, ever the community historian, Summer encourages you to reach out if you or someone you know has stories, photographs, or memories of growing up, working, or living in South Phoenix.

You can find her publications in The Journal of Arizona History. Her most recent article was called “A College Down There.” It profiled the origins of South Mountain Community College and is one of the first scholarly accounts on the history of South Phoenix. Her upcoming book, Student-Centered Oral History: An Ethical Guide is published by Routledge and due out in April. It teaches others to use oral history in their classroom settings. You can follow Summer and her students’ work at southphoenixoralhistory.com or the South Phoenix Oral History Podcast.

In her spare time, Summer conducts “Research on Wheels” around Phoenix, attempts to grow vegetables in her garden, walks her Golden Retriever, tries out challenging recipes, and cheers for anyone but the Cardinals. She does all of this with her “research assistants,” a wonderful husband Cody and darling baby boy, Wilhelm.
Travis May, Ed.D. (Right, with Dr. Raul Cardenas)
Liz Warren (Both images)

Faculty contributors

Andrea Rivers, English (SMCC)
Niall McCarthy, Computer Information Systems (SMCC)
Mary Nunn, Instructional Designer and Documentarian (SMCC)
Angela Moor, Archival Consultant (UNLV)

Walking Tour designers

Carlos Cruz
Francisco Miranda
Jakin Stahl
Niall McCarthy

Driving Tour designers

List coming spring 2024

Student contributors

Student fellows and interns, 2018-

Mario Avent
Sydnee Carey
Mario Cervantes
Carlos Cruz (ASU STEM Train Scholar)
Chantel Freed
Ivonne Godinez
Lexine R. Gonzales
Tommy Lathrop
Diego Lorenzana
Francisco Miranda (ASU STEM Train Scholar)
Cristian Parra (ASU STEM Train Scholar)
Jakin Stahl
Jude Stahl
Tamaiya Thomas (ASU STEM Train Scholar)
Hope Wilkinson
David Zavala

Post Graduate Intern: Ele Anedda, MA (Sardinia, Italy)

Independent Researchers and Storytellers: Jyotsna “Jo” Iyer (India); Rhonda Jones (US); Shalini Pathi (India); Jaya Singh (India)

Student Founders (2017): Jose Escobar; Rubaya Habib; Benjamin Hackett Sr.; Alma Holguin-Flores; Juan Luna; Phillip Martinez Jr.; Moses Monclova; Jovanna Moran; Michael Reid; Jose Reyes; Nephtali Ruiz; Lorena Vazquez

Student Researchers/Writers:

Angel Aguilera; Jesus Aldaz; Andrea Alonso; Kashiro-Oka Altamirano; Pedro Torres Alvarado; Yanai Anaya; Geneva Angulo; Ian Armbruster; Jaime Arredondo; Evelyn Ayala; Noah Backman; Lizbeth Bautista; X Beasely; Dustin Bermudez; Lucero Berry; Miles Bower; Lizette Bustillos; Javier Campos; Katie Campos; Daisy Carpio; Paul Carrasco; Annisa Cardona; Luna Castaneda; Abraham Chavez; Kimberly Chavez; Hector Chavira; Aiden Check; Hassana Cole; Jordan Cook; Mikaela Corona; Fabian Cortez; Sergio Cortez; Daniela Cota; Taylor Culberson; Anfernee Curtis; Kevin Deciga; Max Doll; Naomi Dominguez; Gabriel DeMark; Elijah Durias; Jose Escobar; Daisy Espinoza; Joel Espinoza; Cody Estes; Dair Figueroa; Yuliana Rodriguez Florian; Mykenzie Flores; Mia Franco; Ellian Garcia; Josel Garcia; Ivonne Godinez; Emmanuel Godoy Valenzuela; Alexia Gomez; Angelique Gomez; Alfredo Gonzales; Brandon Gonzales; Jhoana Calvo Gomez; Jorge Gomez-Ramirez; Ana Gonzales; Marissa Grijalva; Kiara Guerrero; Vanessa Gutierrez; Rubaya Habib; Benjamin Hackett Sr.; Grace Henderson; Chris Hernandez; Valeria Hernandez; Daisy Higareda; Anthony Hightower; Alma Holguin-Flores; Ali Hussain; Alexa Key; Carter Krosky; Claudina Mazon Jimenez; Araya Jordan; Jean Marc Kamanda; Carter Krosky; Elizabeth Jaime Lira; Stephen Loper; Esteban Lopez; Esteban Lopez; Makayla Lovelace; Aliyah Jerry Lozano; Juan Luna; Jorge Magana; Phillip Martinez Jr.; Crystal Cruz Mata; Veronica Melchor; Grace McQuillin; Alfonso Mendez-Diaz; Melany Menendez; Julissa Lopez Mendoza; Alberto Minero; Rebecca Miranda; Maria Molina; Moses Monclova; Sophia Monclova; Jovanna Moran; Tyra Morgan; Iliana Munoz; Lynden Murphy; Mohamed Noor; Julian Nunez-Diaz; Jalyn Nuth; Lourdes Ochoa; Saul Orozco; Eduardo Ortiz; Mairim Ortiz; Tony Ortiz; Ayomide Oshilaja; Cameron Palmer; Emanuel Parada; Chimesa Parker; Anabella Parra; Reno Pastrano; Gabriel Perez; Jimmy Perez; Juliene Pilar; April Famoso Pineda; Janae Pridgett; Ramses Ponce; Sarah Potter; Cassidy Randles; Tobias Ramirez; Yessenia (Fae) Ramos; Angela Rodriguez Ramos; Janeth Ramos; Kylie Rehrberger; Michael Reid; Jose Reyes; Juan Rivera; Frances Rodrigues; Arleth Rodriguez; Breanna Rodriguez; Brian Rodriguez; Leobardo Rodriguez; Neida Rodriguez; Thomas Rodriguez; Kolt Rogers; Nephtali Ruiz; Trixie Sabulao; Oscar Salas; Miranda Salgado; Allyssia Sanchez; Angelica Sanchez; Hector Barraza Sandoval; Kendall Schwartz; Evelyn Bojorquez Sepulveda; Antionette Silago; Micah Simpson; Mason Skaugrud; Matt Spadafino; Tyler Smith; Mia Stankiewicz; Felicia Thompson; Angelica Tello; Anyelin Torres; Marissa Torres; Julie Tran; Karen Trejo; Charter Treseder; Erick Trevizo; Trevon Trotter; Victor Utrilla-Herrera; Lorena Vazquez; Alexia Verdugo; Ashley Viana; Venezia Vidaurri; Shelby Voss; Hope Wilkinson; Camille Williams; Elysse Williams; Julisa Vera Zazueta; Daniel Zepeda

(Italic indicates student founders)

Board of Advisors (2023-

Sean P. George
Cate McNamarra, Ph.D.
Travis May, Ed.D.
Angela Moor, Ph.D.
Kathy Nakagawa, Ph.D.
Laura Palma-Blandford
Anthony Pratcher III, Ph.D.
Shalmeka Sweet
Liz Warren