Meet Our Board Members

Dr. Celestino Fernandez, Governing Body President

Dr. Fernandez is a respected sociology professor at The University of Arizona. As a long-standing member of the PPEP and Affiliates corporate board, Dr. Fernandez advises ISAZ on higher education issues and on issues related to PPEP and Affiliates.  

---

Melissa Nordquist

Information coming soon.

---

Dr. Mark Duplissis

Dr. Duplissis is the executive director of high school relations for The Arizona State University. He advises ISAZ on school policy and postsecondary education issues. A former high school administrator, Dr. Duplissis brings years of experience in managing public schools.

---

Dr. Jessie K. Finch

Dr. Jessie K. Finch is the Chair of Sociology at Northern Arizona University. She studies migration, race and ethnicity, deviance, social psychology, emotions, culture, health, and pedagogy. She has a Ph.D. (2015) and M.A. (2011) in Sociology from the University of Arizona and a B.A. (2007) in Sociology and Music from the University of Tulsa. Jessie has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Teaching Sociology, Race and Social Problems, and Sociological Spectrum and has received grants from the National Science Foundation as well as the American Sociological Association. She is the co-editor of Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert from the University of Arizona Press (2016). She has also taught courses on immigration, race and ethnicity, deviance, research methods, popular culture, and happiness.