Maria Eugenia “Maru” Gonzalez will visit Chile from April 7-11 to address topics in school bullying, including homophobic bullying and cyberbullying, in Santiago, Valparaiso and Arica.
Ms. Gonzalez will conduct two workshops on school bullying for elementary and secondary school teachers, school principals and administrators at University of Tarapacá in Arica (April 7-8), where she will also meet with Psychosocial Research and Intervention Center (CEIPSI) researchers.
In Santiago she will do a presentation on Cyberbullying and Homophobic Bullying at Fundación Chile on April 9 and will meet with NGO Educación 2020. On April 10, Ms. Gonzalez will address the development of school programs to prevent homophobic bullying at Universidad del Desarrollo and conduct a round table discussion on bullying prevention and homophobic bullying with researchers from University of Chile Center for Advanced Research in Education (CIAE).
On April 11 she will conduct a round table on homophobic bullying in schools with education and psychology students at Catholic University of Valparaíso.
Ms. Gonzalez earned her doctoral degree in Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is the co-founder of Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, a member of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) National Advisory Council, a board member for Soulforce, an international bullying prevention consultant, and a former school counselor.
Ms. Gonzalez combines her applied experiences as a safe schools advocate and social justice educator to her related scholarly interests regarding school counselor and educator advocacy, school climate, bullying prevention, and LGBT students’ school experiences. She has published in the Journal of Homosexuality and the Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling and is currently in the process of co-authoring a book on cultivating safe and affirming schools for all students.
An expert on educational policy and educational practice, Maru has worked with lobbyists and congressional representatives to change legislation at the local, state, and national levels and has appeared as a regular commentator on both CNN and CNN Español.
