Who We Are

PFI members are volunteers who are committed to reinventing Paulo Freire's pedagogies towards transformation to better the World. Every year more students participate in PFI, creating a community of continuing students and formers students at UCLA. Please contact us to inquire about joining PFI UCLA.

Director and Founder

• Carlos Alberto Torres, Ph.D.

Associate Director

• Aly Juma, Ph.D.

Assistant Directors

• Greg William Misiaszek, Ph.D.
• Lauren Ila Misiaszek, Ph.D.

Program Officers

• Mahsa Bakhshaei, Postdoctoral Fellow
• Justin Gelzhiser, Ph.D. Students

Founders

• Aly Juma, Ph.D.
• Chitra Golestani-Maghzi, Ph.D.
• Peter Lownds, Ph.D.
• Octavio Pescador, Ph.D.
• Sung-Sang Yoo, Ph.D.

Honorary Founding Members

• Daniel Domingvez, Ph.D. Candidate
• Meredith Hermance, Ph.D.
• Jaana Nogueira, Ph.D.
• Greg William Misiaszek, Ph.D.
• Lauren Ila Misiaszek, Ph.D.
• Richard Van Heertum, Ph.D.

Past Program Officers

• Susan Wiksten, Ph.D. 
• Joaquin Noguera, Ph.D. Student
• Fang Tzu Hsu, Ph.D. 
• Daniel Domingez, Ph.D. Candidate
• Jason Dorio, Ph.D. 
• Meredith Hermance, Ph.D.
• Jaana Nogueira, Ph.D.
• Greg William Misiaszek, Ph.D.
• Lauren Ila Misiaszek, Ph.D.
• Liliana Olmos, Ph.D.
• Richard Van Heertum, Ph.D.

Members

• Richard Bamattre, M.A.
• Mahsa Bakhshaei, Postdoctoral Fellow
• Chen Wei Chang, Ph.D.
• Yoo Mi Chin, Ph.D. Candidate
• Clara Chu, Ph.D.
• Daniel Dominguez, Ph.D. Candidate
• Kareem Elzein, Ph.D. Student
• Jay Fala, Ph.D.
• Ezra Green, M.A.
• Melissa Goodnight, Ph.D. Student
• Fang-Tzu Hsu, Ph.D. Student
• Shanshan Jiang, Ph.D. Student
• Lupita Kim, Ph.D. 
• Lucas Layton, Ph.D.
• LiangWen Lin, Ph.D. Candidate
• Veriene Melo, Ph.D. Student
• Marcella Milana, Ph.D.
• Maureen Noble, Ph.D. Student
• Jaana Nogueira, Ph.D.
• Joaquin Nogueira, Ph.D. Student
• Inês Sacchetti, Ph.D. Candidate
• Jien Song, Ph.D. Student
• Ana Elvira Steinbach- Torres, Ph.D.
• Anthony Tróchez, Ph.D. Student
• Winmar Way, Ph.D. Candidate
• Meredith Wegener, Ph.D.
• Susan Wiksten, Ph.D.
• Peter Weldon, Ph.D.

Visiting Scholars – Past and Present

• John Benedicto Krejsler, Ph.D.
• Mahsa Bakhshaei, Ph.D.
• Oleg Gubin, Ph.D.
• Joseph Chin, Ph.D.
• Carla Galego, Ph.D. Student
• YuWen (Willy) Li, Ph.D.
• Marcella Milana, Ph.D.
• Saajidha Sader, Ph.D.
• Lawrence J. Saha, Ph.D.
• Victor Soler Penades, Ph.D.
• Massimiliano Tarozzi, Ph.D.
• Michela Ventura, Ph.D.