Center Director

Ana María Reyes

Director, BU Center for Latin American Studies
Associate Professor, Latin American Art & Architecture

EMAIL: amreyes@bu.edu

Ana María Reyes is an Associate Professor of Latin American Art History and Director of the Center for Latin American Studies, BU Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. She is also Affiliated Researcher, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University and founding member of the Symbolic Reparations Research Project. Her book The Politics of Taste: Beatriz González and Cold War Aesthetics (Duke University Press, 2019) studies symbolic violence in the context of Cold War aesthetic and modernization discourses. She co-edited with Maureen Shanahan Simón Bolívar: Travels and Transformations of a Cultural Icon (University Press of Florida, 2016) on cultural bolivarianisms as a case for the arts and humanities in democratic thinking. She is currently working on a second monograph, To Weave and Repair: Symbolic Reparations in Colombia’s Peace Process.

Alexa Arena

Assistant Director, BU Center for Latin American Studies

EMAIL: alarena@bu.edu

Alexa Arena joined BU CLAS as Assistant Director in August 2025. Alexa comes to this role with a rich background in program management, education, and community-centered work that bridges academic and civic engagement. Before joining BU, she served as Director of Employment Services and Operations Manager at the New American Association of Massachusetts (NAAM), where she led efforts to connect immigrant and refugee communities with employment, training, and support services and helped remove barriers to stable work and economic inclusion. Her earlier work includes international refugee resettlement and trauma-informed case management with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  (UNHCR) and cultural orientation training through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, experiences that underscore her deep commitment to equity and global perspectives. Alexa holds a B.A. in International Affairs and Cultural Anthropology from Northeastern University and an M.A. in Global Migration and Policy from Tel Aviv University, and she brings to CLAS a blend of operational expertise, intercultural fluency, and passion for supporting students and faculty in advancing our mission.