Elaine Peña

American Studies and Anthropology Professor Elaine A. Peña (George Washington University) is a collaborator of the Smithsonian on research projects about Latino local history and religion—including a study of DC’s oldest space for Afro-Cuban religious traditions. Born and raised in Laredo, Texas, she is part of a growing stream of Mexican Americans who since World War II have come to the nation’s capital for work in government, activism, education, engineering, health, and other fields.