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

    +60 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.

  • Gustavo A. Mellander

    +50 articles

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

  • 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.  

  • 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.

  • 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).

All our writers

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.  

Volker Janssen

Volker Janssen, Cal State Fullerton professor of history and project director of Project upGRADS, works to support Latinx and underrepresented graduate students through their academic careers and to boost the recognition of graduate education at CSUF. Janssen’s research focuses on California prisons, politics, economy and culture.

Katherine Powers

Katherine Powers, Cal State Fullerton professor of music and principal investigator of Project upGRADS, has supported Latinx and underrepresented graduate students as the principal investigator on four Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institution grants. Her work has been acknowledged through several university awards.

Pablo Gutierrez

Pablo Gutierrez is a doctoral student at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). An immigrant from Mexico, he works as an International Admissions Evaluator and Recruiter at CSUSB, advocating for equitable access to higher education for underrepresented communities. He is driven by a belief that education transforms lives, breaks barriers, and creates opportunities to build a more inclusive and equitable world.

Matt Frey

Matt Frey is the Director of Media Relations at Mount Saint Mary College and has worked at the institution for 12 years. He is a proud alumnus of the Mount as well, for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Norma Poll-Hunter, PhD

Norma Poll-Hunter, Ph.D. serves as Senior Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Association of American Medical Colleges. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Albany, SUNY, and her BA in Psychology at Lehman College, CUNY.     

Stephanie Reitz

Stephanie Reitz  

Maria Juarez

Maria Juarez, the Youth Organizing Director for Levante Leadership Institute at Student Action with Farmworkers- is of Mexican descent and comes from a farm-working background. Originally from Idaho, she earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Idaho. With a family working in agriculture, she has been a part of SAF since her participation as a summer intern in the Into The Fields program in 2021

Kevin Jimenez

Kevin Jimenez  

Eric Breier

Eric Breier is the interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs for the University Communications office at California State University San Marcos. He writes for the university’s website, magazine and email newsletter. Before joining CSUSM, he spent two decades as a newspaper editor and reporter.  

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.  

Duggan Flanakin

Duggan Flanakin  

Previous Next