Laura R. Blume, PhD
|
Laura Blume is an assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). She is also an affiliated faculty member in the Gender, Race, and Identity (GRI) department at UNR. Laura earned her PhD in Political Science at Boston University in 2020 and previously graduate cum laude from Simmons College. Her research and teaching interests include the war on drugs, political violence, and illicit economies, with a regional focus in Central America. 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. She has a forthcoming book project titled, The Art of Trafficking: How Politics Shapes Narco-Strategies and Violence in Central America, which is under contact with Oxford University Press. The need for the VAPF dataset became apparent to Laura while she was conducting comparative ethnographic research for her dissertation turned book project in Honduras and Nicaragua. Laura won a 2022 Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Distinguished Scholar Award to support the expansion of the VAPF project. |
Current Research Assistants
|
Laura OteroLaura is a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she is pursuing a Master of Public Administration and Policy. After graduation, she plans to continue working in public service, focusing on improving government efficiency and accessibility to better serve communities.
Laura joined the VAPF project in 2024. She is a coauthor on a working paper using preliminary VAPF data which she co-presented at the Southern Political Science Association meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico in January 2025. |
Virginia WeitzelVirginia is an alumna of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) where she received degrees in Political Science and International Affairs emphasizing in Law, Diplomacy and Organizations in May of 2024.
Virginia began work on the VAPF project in September of 2023. She subsequently received a Nevada Undergraduate Research Award (NURA) to support her work on the VAPF project. Virginia contributed to a co-authored article published in NACLA Report on the Americas, titled "Dying for Justice in Central America." Virginia is currently a candidate for her Master of Public Administration and Policy at UNR. She continues to be involved in working on VAPF and contributing to co-authored work using preliminary VAPF data. |
|
|
Leslie Martinez Virgen
Leslie is an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). She is majoring in Political Science and Professional Spanish. Leslie began working on the VAPF project in 2024 and has since won a Nevada Undergraduate Research Award to support her work. Leslie will be graduating in 2026 and plans on attending law school. |
|
Piper Heath
Piper is an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno; she will be graduating in Spring 2025 with double majors in Journalism and Political Science, as well as a minor in Arabic. Piper began working on the VAPF project in January 2022. She subsequently won four Nevada Undergraduate Research Awards (NURA) to support her continued work on the project. Piper has coauthored work published in NACLA Report on the Americas. She continues to work on coauthored projects related to the VAPF project and has presented on VAPF at various prestigious academic conferences including the Midwest Political Science Association, Northeastern Political Science Association, and Southern Political Science Association. |
|
|
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. As an undergraduate, she won three Nevada Undergraduate Research Awards and 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. Diana has worked on the VAPF project as a lead research assistant since January 2021. She has coauthored two articles using preliminary VAPF data that are published in the NACLA Report on the Americas. She remains actively involved in coauthored research related to VAPF and has presented on VAPF at various academic conferences, most recently at the Southern Political Science Association meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico in January 2025. Diana currently works at the Northern Nevada Legal Aid and plans to attend law school in the future and focus on issues relating to human rights, immigration, and violence. |
Amanda VaskovAmanda is a law student at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
She is a 2023 alumna of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where she graduated summa cum laude with degrees in Political Science and International Affairs. By joining the VAPF team, she was able to put her Spanish language and research skills to use during her undergraduate career at UNR. Amanda remains involved in coauthored research related to the VAPF project. |
|
Additional Current Research Assistants
Millie Sanchez Torres, Ana-Júlia Saccani, Camilla Santiago, Daniel Guerrero Napoles, Isabelle Thole, Katherine Villaseñor, Stephanie Moreno Calvillo, Claudia Paur, Sol Rodríguez, Bryant Barrera Carmona, Stephanie Sosa
Former Research Assistants
|
Lauren Harvey
Lauren Harvey is a current PhD 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. |
Valeria HernandezValeria graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) with majors in Political Science and Philosophy. She began working on the VAPF project in August 2023 and continued working on the project until she graduated in 2024. |
|
Additional Former Research Assistants
Fernanda Ramos Rodriguez, Ally Chavez, Katie Sanchez Cordova, Brandon Villalpando, Christopher Knight, Alexa Rangel, Stephanie Yanes