About me
I am a historian and social entrepreneur with experience in research, cultural heritage preservation and project management.
As a researcher I focus on the Venezuelan petroleum industry under foreign control (1922-1976). I study corporate social responsibility and management reform implemented by American petroleum companies as a strategy to prolong control over Venezuelan oil and confront economic nationalism in the hydrocarbon industry. My research specifically explores the networks of relationships and support developed by the Creole Petroleum Corporation (subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey) with Venezuelan union leaders, political elites and domestic business groups.
As a social entrepreneur I believe history is more than writing books. I have been working to bring history to non-specialized audiences. A starting point has been my passion for archival preservation. I am co-founder of the Venezuela History Network, an organization focused on the digitization of archives at risk in Venezuela and the promotion of the digital humanities in general. The objective here is to contribute to the creation of new narratives, perspectives and debates about Venezuelan and Latin American history by providing open access to digitized content. The organization also seeks to help and assist those communities or institutions without the means to preserve their own cultural heritage.
As a project manager, I have worked with non-profits institutions in the implementation of human rights and democratic governance projects in Latin America. As part of my own organization, I have been in charge of fundraising, grant applications, and the supervision of cultural heritage projects, including our most recent initiative: The digitization of 404 colonial volumes on the history of enslaved Afro-Venezuelans.
I have also produced podcasts focused on bringing historical topics and cultural heritage discussions to broader audiences, and in public history initiatives like the Texas Handbook of Women and the Texas Handbook of Dallas-Fort Worth, writing short biographical entries. These projects seek to make history accessible for individuals who are not interested in approaching the discipline from a purely academic perspective.
I enjoy playing soccer, videogames, watching shows and reading in my free time. Big fan of science fiction franchises like Star Wars, Mass Effect and Horizon.