Elizabeth Sanchez grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of immigrants and the granddaughter of a Bracero Program participant whose stories of migration and perseverance never left her. Those stories didn’t just shape who she became. They shaped how she works.
Today, Elizabeth is nearing completion of her doctorate in Social Work at the University of Chicago, and her research is challenging how academic scholarship engages with immigrant communities. Rather than studying families from a distance, she invites them to help design and direct the research itself. The result is work that doesn’t just document community. It emerges from it.
Her project will culminate in a community gallery walk, where participating families will present artwork, share their stories, and be seen: not only for their struggles, but for their strength, creativity, and hope.
Read Elizabeth’s full story.