Meet our writers

We are an extended family and we take advantage of opportunities to work together.

  • Gary M. Stern

    +60 articles

    Gary Stern, a contributing writer for HO  has written hundreds of articles that have appeared in such leading publications as The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, USA Weekend, Crain's New York Business, Electronic Business, and Tennis. 

  • Frank DiMaria

    +50 articles

    Frank DiMaria is a freelance writer living South Carolina. When he’s not writing he teaches computer science and digital literacy in a middle school in Fort Mill.

  • Mary Ann Cooper

    +50 articles

    Whether the subject is health care or movies, women's issues or trends in television, Mary Ann has written about it or spoken about it. She is the author of more than 100 book projects including “Natural Cures for Common Diseases,” “101 Ways to Pamper Yourself,” and "Easy Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol." She was a nationally syndicated columnist for 30 years and contributing writer to an eclectic group of magazines including Hispanic Outlook, Women's World, Television Week, GRAND Magazine, Boxoffice Magazine, Looking Good Now Magazine, and American Media Special Magazines.  

  • Gustavo A. Mellander

    +50 articles

    Dr. Mellander was a university dean for 15 years and a college president for 20.

  • Enrique Del Risco

    +40 articles

    Enrique Del Risco Arrocha, also known as Enrisco, was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1967. He has a degree in History from the University of Havana and a doctorate in Latin American Literature from New York University (NYU), where he currently works. as a teacher in the department of Spanish and Portuguese. He was a finalist for the Cintas Foundation Fellowship for Creative Writing -for the project “Trilogía cubana del Hudson” (2011), and has received the following awards: Prize of the Contest Trece de Marzo 1993, Prize of Short Story magazine “Revolución y Cultura” 1994, Villa Awards de Madrid 1996 and V Ibero-American Cortes de Cádiz Award 2008, for the works: Shrunken Works (1992), Loss and recovery of innocence (1994), Crocodile tears (1998), Leve Historia de Cuba (2007), and ¿Qué Will they think of us in Japan? (2008).

  • Peggy Sands Orchowski

    +40 articles

    Peggy (Dr. Margaret) Sands Orchowski Ph.D. has been the credentialed Congressional Correspondent for the Hispanic Outlook on Higher Education magazine in Washington DC since 2006.  Her new book “The Law That Changed the Face of America: the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965” was published by Rowman & Littlefield in September in time for the 50th anniversary of its signing.

All our writers

Magdalena Martinez, Ph.D.

Magdalena Martinez is an associate professor at Rowan University in New Jersey. Prior to her academic position, she served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the state of Nevada, where she worked closely with college and university presidents on policy, equity, and access issues.   

Alejandro Figliolo

Alejandro Figliolo es bailarín de tango, coreógrafo e instructor. Es también presidente de la “Fundación Cultura y Arte Popular.” Realizó sus estudios en la Universidad del Tango, ahora CETBA, en Buenos aires. Actuó en los teatros de Avenida Corrientes en Buenos Aires y recorrió el mundo con diferentes compañías de tango. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alejandro.figlio YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoBuio7OFsdrJqHNWCe7p6w IG: c.a.p.fundacion

Rafael C. Castillo, Ph.D.

Rafael C. Castillo, Ph.D., a professor of English and Humanities at Palo Alto College, is the author of Dostoevsky on Guadalupe Street (Peter Lang International), Aurora (Floricanto Press), Distant Journeys (Bilingual Review Press) and scholarly articles in Oxford Bibliographies, English Journal, Arizona Quarterly, Frank (Paris), New Mexico Humanities Review, CC-Humanities Review with fiction anthologized in Lone Star Literature (Norton), Under the Pomegranate Tree (Washington Square Press) and New Growth (Corona Press). He is the former editor of ViAztlan: International Journal of Arts and Ideas and serves as Co-Editor of CTN: A Journal of Pedagogy and Creativity (New Haven, CT), the official journal of Catch the Next, Inc. (a college-readiness program).        

Kevin Prehn

Kevin Prehn is president of Concorde Career Colleges, where he leads a dedicated team across eight states, preparing tomorrow’s healthcare professionals for diverse, in-demand careers. Kevin’s transformative leadership recently secured Concorde the prestigious 2023 School of the Year recognition from the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools.  

Mariah Solis

Mariah Solis is a Tejano currently working in Washington, D.C., at the National Hispanic Medical Association through the nonprofit’s internship program. She is studying media and communications and minoring in politics and sociology at The Catholic University of America (CUA). Previously, she has written for the National Education Association about school resources and solutions to mental health issues. She works on accurate media representation for the Latino and LGBTQIA+ community as the 130th editor-in-chief of The Tower, CUA’s student newspaper, and vice president of CUAllies, the underground LGBTQIA+ campus organization. Solis has been the recipient of the 2023 Media Fellows Scholarship by the Washington Media Scholars Foundation and the Hector Mendez Scholarship issued by the Puerto Rican Heritage Society. 

JoAnn Trejo

JoAnn Trejo, PhD, MBA, is a professor and senior assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Faculty Affairs at UC San Diego. She leads several NIH-funded programs and is a highly  recognized leader for her work embracing mentorship and effective strategies to enhance faculty career development and inclusive excellence. She was elected as Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology, and included among the 100 Inspiring Hispanic / Latinx Scientists in America and in the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Trejo is a first-generation Mexican American scientist who received her PhD and MBA at UC San Diego and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Francisco.  

Dr. Adrianna Nava

Dr. Nava is an Applied Research Scientist at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and 2021-2024 President of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN). Dr. Nava earned her MPA from Harvard University, a PhD from the University of Massachusetts Boston, an MSN from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BSN from Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing.  

Monique Navarro

Monique Navarro  

Lorna Rivera, PhD.

Dr. Lorna Rivera is the Director of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development & Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston.Her work focuses on education and the social determinants of health. Rivera is co-editor of the new book, Critical Perspectives on Latino Education in Massachusetts, UMass Press, 2025.  

Melissa L. Freeman, Ph.D

Melissa L. Freeman, Ph.D., is the Chair of the Educational Leadership Department and LEAD program. She is also the founding director of the HEAL program where she secured a nearly $300K grant from the US Department of Education, FIPSE fund to provide the seed money to start the program in 2009.  She also served as a Project Director on the Title V PPOHA grant from 2014 to 2020. Dr. Freeman has presented and authored numerous presentations and publications related to Latino/a Student Success including her co-edited monograph “College Completion for Latino/a Students: Institutional and System Approaches” in New Directions for Higher Education.  

Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick

As Executive Director of the program, Dr. Harper-Marinick is a leader in higher education and a strong advocate for equitable access to opportunity through education. She is a Senior Fellow with the Aspen Institute, Chair of the Board of UnidosUS, and Past Chair of the Board of Excelencia in Education.  

Curtis L. Garcia, Ph.D

Curtis L. Garcia, Ph.D., is a Professor and Director of the School of Education. Dr. Garcia joined the faculty of Adams State in 2014 and has served as project director a number of federal and state grants - totaling more than $7M focused on teacher recruitment, retention and quality. He also founded Project SERVE, a program aimed at supporting early recruitment of diverse educators in southern Colorado. Dr. Garcia’s research focuses on teacher mentoring and evaluation, issues in rural education, and issues related to multicultural education and equity in schools.   

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