Elaine_bio

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               December, 2016                 CV

     

     Elaine Elliott grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico, the child of Bible translators. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in History in 1974. She and her husband Stephen lived in Guatemala for 17 years and established a nonprofit in the Guatemalan highlands. The nonprofit Ixil Fund supported local leadership for projects in bilingual education, healthcare, micro-credit, and an export business of traditional weavings. As the civil war in the country progressed, the nonprofit engaged in emergency services, providing medical care, clothing, housing, and land for resettlement.

     In 1991 Elaine returned to the U.S. and began work at the University of San Diego on a grant for institutionalizing diversity. She began work in the Center for Community Service-Learning in 1995, co-founding the incorporation of service in classes. She completed an M.A. in History at USD and became the director of the Center for Community-Service Learning in July 2002. She led a dynamic team that emphasized social justice as well as compassionate service and community building, and led the program to national recognition for excellence in its community partnerships, student development, and strategies for social change.

     In 2010 she and her husband returned to Guatemala to work on Maya Ixil languages investigation and production of materials. She had previously translated the first novel by a Mayan author, A Mayan Life, still considered one of the key works of the Maya resurgence. She has recently translated poems by the same author, Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez. Her current research is on Mayan leaders in the human rights movement, as well as continuing previous research on Ixil Maya land tenure. She and her husband are working on innovative computerized management of linguistic & cultural materials in Ixil Maya.











/A/EDE/_B/       Elaine D Elliott • 2016 Dec 11 • 2016 Dec 11