Ana-Maurine Lara
Ana-Maurine Lara (born 1975) is a Dominican American lesbian poet, novelist and black feminist scholar. Lara is a long-time LGBT human rights activist and supporter, having served on the Board of Directors for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Her creative work and scholarship focus on questions of black and indigenous women's freedom, love and ancestors. Education. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Harvard-Radcliffe University, and a PhD in African American Studies and Anthropology from Yale University. Since September 2015, she  is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon. She has been a faculty member in the department of Anthropology, and most recently, Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. Personal life. Lara was born in the Dominican Republic. Lara is the daughter of Erasmo Lara Peña, who served in the United Nations secretariat for 25 years, and briefly served as the Dominican Ambassador to the United Nations. She is also the daughter of the American poet Elizabeth Lara. Lara has two younger siblings. Lara graduated from Mount Vernon High School, in Mount Vernon, New York. She received a Bachelor's degree in  Anthropology at Harvard University. She completed a Masters and a PhD in the joint program in African American Studies and Anthropology at Yale University. While at Yale University, she worked under the guidance of scholar Jafari Sinclaire Allen.