Lillian Gorman is originally from New Mexico and graduated with a B.A. in Spanish and English from the University of New Mexico and an M.A. in Southwest Hispanic Studies in the Spanish Department at the University of New Mexico.  Lillian worked for four years with federal education policy for Hispanic Serving Institutions in Washington, D.C. and New Mexico.  Lillian developed and directed the Spanish as a Heritage Language Program at New Mexico Highlands University from 2005-2007 and also created and developed the Spanish for Heritage Learners Nicaragua Study program from 2006-2009. Lillian served as the Assistant Director of Spanish for Heritage Speakers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and graduated with her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in Hispanic Studies with concentrations in Latina/o Studies and Sociolinguistics. Lillian is currently the Director of Spanish for Heritage Learners at the University of Arizona and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.  Her research agenda is committed to engaging Latino/a cultural studies with sociolinguistics and her research interests focus on issues of language and identity within U.S. Latino/a communities and U.S. Latino/a popular culture in the southwest and Chicago.  Lillian also actively works to promote recruitment and retention of Latinos in higher education and has worked with local and national Latino higher education organizations such as HACU and the Tucson Hispanic Leadership Institute and remains an active member of and the Mexican Museum of Fine Art in Chicago and their women’s quilting group “Puntadas del alma” and an active member of Good Shepherd Parish in Chicago.