Dr. Sara E. Cooper (Ph.D. University of Texas, 1999) is an assistant Professor at California State University, Chico. She teaches courses on Contemporary Latina/o and Chicana/o cultural production, Modern Spanish American literature, and Gender Studies/Queer Studies. She has a special interest in women's experiences in Cuba. Her publications include one book, The Ties That Bind: Questioning Family Dynamics and Family Discourse in Hispanic Literature and Film (Lanham: University Press of America 2004.) as well as critical articles in Chasqui, Confluencia, Dactylus, and several critical anthologies (most notably Tortilleras: Hispanic and Latina Lesbian Expression and Reading the Family Dance: Family Systems Therapy and the Literary Study). Dr. Cooper also has translated stories and novels by Latin American women writers.

She has been living in Chico with her partner Connor and their animals since 2000. Her favorite activities include travel, reading, dancing, and playing with her niece, Eva.