Vivian Brates

Bio

Vivian Brates is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she attended the University of Buenos Aires. She received an M. A. degree from Georgetown University in Latin American Studies, with a focus on Economic Development, and previously an M. A. degree from UC Santa Barbara in Spanish and Latin American Literature. She worked for several years as a Human Rights Observer and Election Monitor with the United Nations and the OAS in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Guatemala, as well as an advocate and lobbyist in Washington DC.

She has worked at Stanford since 2005 and has focused on developing meaningful partnerships with Spanish-speaking communities to offer students real-life experiences, raise awareness about other cultures (and their own), grow their global competencies, and develop identities as engaged citizens.

Her students have been working with the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area preparing immigrants for the US citizenship exam, the Dilley Pro Bono Project in Texas and Al Otro Lado in Tijuana, Mexico, helping asylum seekers articulate their fear of return claims, and more recently with Freedom for Immigrants and Detention Resistance, staffing hotlines for immigrants in ICE detention. She has also volunteered for the Prison University Project (currently Mount Tamalpais College) teaching Spanish at San Quentin Prison.

Academic Appointments

• Advanced Lecturer, Stanford Language Center

Honors & Awards

• Global Engagement Initiative Award, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) (2023)
• Friends of Haas Award, Haas Center for Public Service (2022)
• Terman Fellow Mentorship Award, School of Engineering, Stanford University (2021)
• Global Studies Course Innovation Grant, Stanford University (2018)
• Stanford Partnership Award, Stanford Office of Public Service (2016)
• Global Engagement Initiative Award, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) (2016)
• Certificate of Recognition, State of California Senate (2016)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Board Member, One Life (Una Vida) Counseling Services (2023 - Present)

Professional Education

• M.A., Georgetown University, Latin American Economic Development, School of Foreign Service
• M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, Spanish & Latin American Literatures