Mayra Tenorio

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About Mayra

(updated 2/2019) Mayra Tenorio has an MPhil in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates-Cambridge Scholar. During her time there, she was part of a student-led team evaluating a series of initiatives launched across Cambridge to prevent harassment and sexual assault misconduct. Her dissertation explored how indigenous women in Guatemala mobilize their bodies and communities to resist gendered violence and is informed by her time as a 2015 Watson Fellow. Her Watson project allowed her to spend a year documenting women’s stories of survival in eight countries and, along the way, join women and girls in their personal and local efforts towards gender equality. She led focus groups with female community leaders in the Dominican Republic, helped facilitate a leadership module for girls on the Peace Accords in Guatemala, planned campaigns with women’s collectives to decriminalize abortions in Argentina, and joined a female-led caravan defending indigenous land and food sovereignty in Canada. Mayra’s interests in gender research developed while she studied sociology and anthropology at Swarthmore College. As a Mellon Mays Fellow, she received research training and completed two research projects examining men’s role in gender equality, including an award-winning senior thesis on men’s friendships. Outside of class, Mayra served as a Student Academic Mentor, Green Advisor, and member of the Abuse & Sexual Assault Prevention Taskforce. She returned to her high school in Waukegan, IL, and co-led two series of leadership workshops for young women. After completing her Watson year, Mayra immersed herself in the vibrant advocacy efforts of her Latinx immigrant community, by working closely with students to facilitate Know Your Rights workshops for undocumented families, and chaperoned an exchange trip to South Dakota that brought together the historical struggles of Latinx and Lakota students. As a case manager, she helped working-class immigrants access public benefits and legal counsel, and prepare for the U.S naturalization exam. During her Luce year with Asian Center for Women's Studies at Ewha Womans University, Mayra works on the  Asian Journal for Women’s Studies , which aims to expand the western-centered nature of women’s studies by disseminating current information about women’s issues in Asia. She also participated in Ewha’s Global Empowerment Program, a week-long series of workshops highlighting the expertise of women activists from 13 Asian countries. Mayra also joined the local advocacy efforts of various Korean NGOs, helping execute performances, demonstrations, and events for Me Too and against cyber sexual violence. 

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Mayra's Scholar Story

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