Ana Ortez-Rivera graduated from the University of Maryland in May 2018 as a social-cultural anthropology major, with a certificate in Latin American studies and minor in international development and conflict management. Ana has been fascinated by cultural differences and similarities of people since a young age. In elementary school, she recalls asking her friends to describe their homelands and cultures. When college approached, she chose anthropology because she felt she was already an anthropologist in training.

Ana joined the research project “The Health and Well-being of Newly DACA-mented Young Adults,” in 2016 headed by Dr. Christina Getrich. This project allowed her to conduct interviews with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, conduct data analysis, and present findings at various conferences. She presented at the 2017 Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She also presented at the 2018 SfAA conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her commentary titled “Finding My Voice as a First-Time Voter and DACA Researcher during Anti-Immigrant Times” was published in Practicing Anthropology Volume 39, Issue 3. Recently, she co-authored the blog post with Dr. Getrich for the Cultural Anthropology Blog Series titled “ICE was like an urban legend here in Maryland.”

Ana interned with CASA de Maryland “Mi Espacio” program, where she mentors immigrant high school students. Ana also served as a tutor for the Academic Achievement program on the UMD campus. She is also a proud Ronald E. McNair scholar and Global fellow. She previously won a fellowship for the Public Policy and International Affairs Program where she spent the summer at Carnegie Mellon University. Ana also interned with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Research and Evaluation Division.

Currently, Ana works as a Career and Life Skills Advisor at the Next Step Public Charter School. Ana plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy after graduation and wants to earn a doctoral degree in the future. She is passionate about addressing issues that affect refugee and immigrant communities. 

Ana enjoys graphic design and web development in her spare time. She has attended numerous hackathons (coding competitions) in different states - winning two awards with her teams. She also loves eating her grandmother's Salvadoran dishes.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaor/

Personal Website: www.Anadefined.com