Program Co-Directors

Dr. Naomi Wood (she/her) and Dr. Nancy Ríos (she/her)

 Dr. Wood has been a faculty member at Colorado College since 2011 in the Spanish and Portuguese Department. Her research focuses on Queer Popular Cultures throughout the Americas and in creating links across social justice struggles that surpass borders. She founded CC Mobile Arts in 2021 with the support from the NEH Distinguished Teaching Professorship and encouragement from colleagues and community members eager to see greater access to arts, sustained engagement between the College and the Colorado Springs broader community, and increased focus on local artists. She was born on the Big Island of Hawai’i (not Hawaiian) and treasures her relationship with the ocean as a foundational teacher.

Dr. Ríos is an educator who has taught courses at Colorado College since 2013 in the Southwest Studies, Anthropology, Feminist and Gender Studies, Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies, and Spanish Departments. She has worked closely with mural restoration and preservation efforts through the Chicano/a/x Murals of Colorado Project. She joined CC Mobile Arts as co-director in March 2022 where she centers art, healing, and community empowerment in the tradition of Chicanx, Black, and Indigenous activism. She is a first generation Chicana born in Chicago and a mother of two kids @mothering.en.nepantla 

Hi! I’m Gemma, a junior transfer student. I’m studying creative writing and am so happy to be a part of the Mobile Arts team! Community building and creativity hold a special place in my heart ❤️ I love the spaces that CCMA facilitates and fosters; the Colorado College community is lucky to have a project as inspiring as CCMA, and I can’t wait to continue working alongside such amazing people!!