Meet our writers

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

  • Gary M. Stern

    +50 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

    +40 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

    +30 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

Cristóbal Rodríguez, PhD.

Cristóbal Rodríguez, PhD., is Associate Provost of Equity at Western Michigan University, Chair-elect, Board of Directors, American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education, and Commissioner, President Biden’s Advisory Commission for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.  

Sherrell Smith

Sherrell Smith is the Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, UTI, Inc.  

Jenni Batchelder

Dra. Jenni Batchelder (she/ella) is a proud Chicana from San Antonio, TX. Jenni serves as the Director for the Arizona Science, Engineering, and Math Scholars (ASEMS) program at the University of Arizona. Her research interests involve the study of generativity (guiding the future of others) and leadership development for Latine college students and strengthening transfer student experiences in STEM.

Idalia Nuñez

Idalia Nuñez is an Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy with an emphasis on bilingualism and bilingual education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research is focused on linguistic equity in bilingual classrooms serving students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Her work looks closely at Latinx bilingual students’ everyday language practices, experiences in and out of school spaces, and agency.    

John Arroyo

Doctoral Candidate, Department of Urban Studies and Planning,  MIT Research Fellow, Global Social Protections,  Weatherhead Center for International Affairs,  Harvard University

Jamaal Abdul-Alimn

Jamaal writes articles about higher education and chess. His articles have appeared in several national newspapers and magazines, including Education Week, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal and US News & World Report.  He attended Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and was a Spencer Education Journalism Fellow. He received an undergraduate degree in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

Arturo Cázares

Arturo Cázares is the CEO of LBAN, a Silicon Valley-based non-profit that partners with Stanford to empower Latino entrepreneurship across the U.S. With his leadership, LBAN has become a thought leader in Latino entrepreneurship. Before LBAN, Cázares was a C-level executive with extensive experience scaling businesses, from building and leading teams at start-ups to leading multi-billion-dollar revenue organizations with thousands of employees worldwide. He has an Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from the Stanford GSB.

Gina Astorini

Dr. Astorini, Ed.D., currently serves as the Associate Director for The Leadership Alliance. Dr. Astorini is focused on developing, evaluating, and improving programming that serves underrepresented students to support preparedness and critical skills necessary to pursue careers in research.  

Adriana Rodríguez

Adriana Rodriguez is the Vice President for Programs at Excelencia in Education. She leads the strategic direction and operations of the Programs team to ensure high-quality implementation of two major portfolios (Examples of Excelencia and Seal of Excelencia certification). Adriana has 20 years of experience in the non-profit education sector.   

Dr. Elizabeth Frohlich

Dr. Elizabeth Frohlich serves as Director for Resources and is involved in a wide range of resource development initiatives in support of the mission of The Forum. She manages the Forum Consulting program, works with the Annual and Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EMEA) Conference Committees to develop conference content, and leads The Forum’s sustainability efforts. frohlice@forumea.org