Principal Investigator

Laura R. Blume, PhD

Laura Blume earned her PhD in Political Science at Boston University in 2020 and that same year she began a position as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research and teaching interests include the war on drugs, political violence, and illicit economies throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Her research has been published in Comparative Political Studies, Political Geography, Journal of Politics in Latin America, NACLA Report on the Americas, and World Development.​
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The need for the VAPF dataset became apparent to Laura while she was conducting comparative ethnographic research for her dissertation in Honduras and Nicaragua. She won a 2022 Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Distinguished Scholar Award to support this project.

Research Assistants

​Valeria Hernandez

​Valeria is an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) studying Political Science and Philosophy. She began working on the VAPF project in August 2023. When she graduates from UNR in May 2024, she plans to attend law school and eventually enter the public policy reform field.

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Virginia Weitzel 

​Virginia is an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno studying Political Science and International Affairs. She began working on the VAPF project in September 2023. She won a Nevada Undergraduate Research Award to support her work on the project until her graduation from the University in May of 2024. ​

​Amanda Vaskov

Amanda is a 2023 alumna of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). She graduated with degrees in Political Science and International Affairs summa cum laude. By joining the VAPF team, she was able to put her Spanish language and research skills to use during her undergraduate career at UNR. In the fall of 2024, she will be studying at the William S. Boyd School of Law. 

​Diana Meza​

​​Diana Meza is an alumna of the University of Nevada, Reno where she graduated with degrees in International Affairs, Gender Race and Identity, and Professional Spanish. In recent years she has helped conduct research investigating the impact of the Violence Against Women Act on migrant women in Nevada, and communication and network development patterns among transmigrants living in the United States. She plans to attend law school in the future and focus on issues relating to human rights, immigration, and violence. Diana has worked on the VAPF project as a lead research assistant since January 2021.

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​Piper Heath

Piper is an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno. She began working on the VAPF project in January 2022. She subsequently won a Nevada Undergraduate Research Award (NURA) to support her continued work on the project in the summer and fall of 2022.

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​​Lauren Harvey

Lauren Harvey is a current graduate student of Sociology at Rice University. She is a 2021 alum of the University of Nevada, Reno where she graduated with three bachelor’s degrees in Gender, Race and Identity, Spanish Literature and Culture, and International Affairs. Lauren worked on the VAPF project as a lead research assistant from January 2021 to August 2022.

Additional Current Research Assistants:

​Nathalia Melendez, Ana-Júlia Saccani

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Former Research Assistants:
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Ally Chavez, Katie Sanchez Cordova, Brandon Villalpando, Christopher Knight, Alexa Rangel, Stephanie Yanes

Are you interested in joining our team?

If you're a freshman or sophomore at UNR, apply for the Pack Research Exchange Program! 
​Everyone else, please contact Laura Blume!