Sandra Pulido

RESEARCH INTERESTS
The creation of masks, LGBTQ+, autobiography, transatlantic cultures, memory studies, trauma, violence, human rights, film studies, contemporary Latin American literature and culture 

Sandra Pulido was born in San Francisco and raised in El Salvador; hence, Spanish is her first language. A first-generation college student, Sandra brings years of experience teaching Spanish as a second language across multiple levels and cultural contexts. 

Before joining Maybeck, she volunteered as a mentor in graphic design and served as a Spanish tutor in every institution she attended. Sandra was part of WritersCorps, where she grew as a bilingual poet, and later interned with Poetry Inside Out, teaching creative writing workshops at San Francisco elementary and middle schools. Additionally, she helped organize the 7th annual Self-Healing workshop for Healing for Change, a group supporting women survivors of trauma, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. 

Sandra has published poems in several books, anthologies, and journals. Her work has been exhibited at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and presented at cultural venues including Galleria de La Raza, the San Francisco Library, City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, and Litquake. In 2012, she hosted her first Spanish-language poetry contest, Versos y frases del alma, at City College of San Francisco. In 2020, Editions Bellaterra (Spain) published Seguir viviendo, a book that combines Sandra’s life story with her poetry.

Her teaching experience spans multiple institutions: as a Spanish tutor at CCSF, undergraduate reader at UC Davis, teaching assistant at SFSU, and graduate teaching assistant at UC Davis. 

Beyond her academic and literary pursuits, Sandra enjoys hiking, biking, racquetball, writing poetry, listening to music, painting, learning new languages and cultures, traveling, driving, reading, dancing, spending time with her friends and family, especially her nephew. Her travels include driving across the United States twice, extensive visits along the East Coast, and trips to Spain, Norway, Sweden, Puerto, Rico, Austria, Canada, and Dominican Republic, with more to come. 

Sandra is currently doing a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature and Culture with a Designated Emphasis in Human Rights at UC Davis. She is thrilled to be part of the Maybeck family.