Glenda Mejia

These days, Glenda lives, moves, un/learns, works, and breathes on the traditional lands of the Kulin Nation. She was born in Kuskatan, known as El Salvador, and raised between lines: Kuskatan, Jagera Country, Meajin Country, and Naarm. She uses the pronouns she/her/hers/ella. She completed her PhD at The University of Queensland, Brisbane.  

Glenda is a cultural geographer, scholar and educator, and her work and un/learnings focus on feminismos descoloniales from Abya Yala, migration/displacement entangled with memory, and sensing-thinking pedagogy. As a co-member of archiving the present, Glenda collaborates in various community-based programs such as: Náhuat Saturday School and SHELF in which she collaborated with Arts Gen to develop a community curated library, with the focus on Central American texts. 

Glenda is a facilitator and community engaged collaborator with over 20 years of experience working with different communities from Latin American countries in so-called Australia. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Global Language Studies program at RMIT University, and one of the few scholars in Australia to have published extensively on topics related to the Spanish-speaking community in Australia such as belonging, memory, and displacement. As a lifelong learner, educator and scholar, Glenda is committed to un/re/learning and teaching by engaging and embodying a praxis of senti-pensante pedagogies. Her ethics, teaching, and work are inspired by Gloria Anzaldúa and bell hooks.

Grants and awards
2024–2025: Creative Australia Grant. Salvadorian displacement: an illustrated bilingual e-publication
2024: Adobe x Creative Curriculum Grant, Diversity, and Inclusion in a digital Spanish book
2014: Award for Teaching Excellence, Higher Education (College of Design and Social Context)
2014–2015: DEEWR Study Overseas Short Term Mobility to La Salle University, Mexico
2011: DEEWR Study Overseas Short Term Mobility Program Study to Javariana University, Colombia
2009: Transition Funding, RMIT University. Aim: to develop listening material for various levels of Spanish
2007: Transition Funding, RMIT University. Aim: to develop a course for the students to prepare for the Spanish Proficiency Test (DELE)
2003: Graduate School Research Travel Award, The University of Queensland, St Lucia campus
2002: Philology Scholarship, Department of Romance Languages, The University of Queensland, St Lucia campus
2002: Nominated for Dean's List Most Effective Teacher Award, The University of Queensland, St Lucia campus