Jesus Villa

Originally from New Mexico, Jesús began his undergraduate career at Arizona State University in 2007. He graduated in 2011 with a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Religious Studies. He worked for two years as a forensic death investigator and forensic anthropology and odontology lab technician for the Maricopa County Office of the Medial Examiner before returning to ASU in 2013 to pursue his Master’s degree. Jesús graduated in 2016 with an MA in Anthropology of Religion; his thesis, "African Healing in Mexican Curanderismo," focuses on the West African ritual and ethnomedical contributions to curanderismo, the traditional healing art of Mexico and the Southwestern United States. His current research focuses on the complex relationship between Medical Examiners Offices, federal immigration policy, forensic necroviolence and U.S. necropolitics, and the migrant death crisis on the México-U.S. border.

Jesús has served the ASU community as a Success Coach and Coordinator, Sr. with the ASU First-Year Success Center, an Academic Success Advisor for the School of Molecular Sciences, and a Research Assistant to professors from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. Jesús is currently a PhD student and Teaching Assistant in the School of Transborder Studies; a Research Assistant for CISA; and an occasional adjunct professor of Anthropology and Storytelling for the Maricopa County Community College District. He also volunteers with local groups Patiloni, the Sagrado Galleria, Chicanos Por La Causa, The Cultural Coalition, RealTimeSTEAM, and White People Against White Supremacy.