Bio
Leilani-Marie Gonzalez is a Ph.D. student in Global and Sociocultural Studies, concentrating in Sociocultural Anthropology. She earned her B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in English from FIU. Her interdisciplinary research examines exile, othering, identity, and belonging, with particular attention to how race, gender, culture, and structures of power shape experiences of displacement and marginalization. Her professional experience as a former educator and current Senior Academic Advisor at FIU has further shaped her interest in how institutional structures influence access, belonging, and experiences of inclusion and exclusion. Building from her previous work in literary and exile theory, she is interested in expanding into contemporary sociocultural contexts, particularly the lived experiences of individuals navigating liminality, cultural exclusion, and both geographic and internal forms of exile.