Dr. Marcelo Garzo Montalvo

Dr. Marcelo Garzo Montalvo (he/they) is a musician, dancer, and Ethnic Studies scholar-activist. They currently serve as Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University San Marcos. He is a first-generation Chilean-Canadian-American of Mapuche and Spanish descent. They hold a B.A., M.A. and PhD in Comparative Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley, and were a transfer student from California Community Colleges. Marcelo has served on the Board of Directors of Planting Justice since 2010 and worked on staff as part of the Education Team from 2010-2014. He also worked with People’s Grocery in West Oakland as the Food Justice Allyship Coordinator and Pie Ranch in Pescadero, CA as the Youth Programs Manager. He has facilitated numerous popular education workshops in the food sovereignty and environmental justice movements over the years, collaborating with groups like Phat Beets Produce, Canal Youth for Justice and the Decolonize the Food System Collective. Their research, activism and creative work continues to focus on traditions of cultural resistance, healing justice and education for liberation.