Rachel Ramirez-Hammond

Rachel Ramirez-Hammond grew up in the small town of Oberlin, Ohio. Her interest in Latin American Studies led her to a year and a half abroad in Guayaquil, Ecuador, while pursuing her B.A. from Capital University in International Studies and Spanish. She then moved to Tampa, Florida, to study Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at the University of South Florida. Her specialization was in Latin American contemporary democracies. She finished her M.A. in 2004.

Rachel then worked for a year and a half as a bilingual staff member at a large domestic violence shelter in Tampa, Florida, specifically working with Latin@ survivors of family violence. She relocated to Columbus last year with her husband from Venezuela, Juan Carlos. Rachel began a dual degree graduate program in social work and public health (MSW/MPH) at Ohio State, with a focus on Latin@ immigrant families. She continues to work with Spanish speaking domestic violence victims at the Ohio Hispanic Coalition in Columbus.

Rachel said, "As a gringa who has learned fluent Spanish, lived in Latin America, and now have my own bicultural and bilingual family, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the Latin@ community at Ohio State as Qué Pasa’s editor. I look forward to building relationships with organizations and providing interesting, thought provoking, important information to the Ohio State community about Latin@ life, culture, and successes."