Teresita has expertise in agrarian and economic history in the Spanish Caribbean, with a particular focus on the tobacco economy in Puerto Rico. Her book, Puerto Ricans in the Empire: Tobacco Growers and U.S. Colonialism, was published by Rutgers University Press in 2014. Teresita has extensive experience conducting qualitative research in Spanish and English, including moderating focus groups and in-depth interviews, and in-home visits. Teresita is fluent in Spanish and English.