Dr. Margaret Salazar-Porzio

Co-Principal Investigator

Curator of Latinx History and Culture in the Division of Cultural and Community Life at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She co-curated Many Voices, One Nation (2017) and produced the exhibition book, Many Voices, One Nation: Material Culture Reflections on Race and Migration in the United States.

Salazar-Porzio is project director of the bilingual exhibition and book, ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues / En los barrios y las grandes ligas, which began its national tour in Michigan in January 2021. An artifact-rich version opened at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC in July 2021. Dedicated to public history and community-driven projects, Salazar-Porzio works closely with partners to co-curate exhibitions and build archives and collections. Her most recent projects-in-motion include the award-winning “Collective Care in Puerto Rico” in collaboration with the Hurricane Maria Archive and the University of Puerto Rico to document the recent overlapping crises that have affected Puerto Ricans on the island and the diaspora, as well as a highly acclaimed project on the “First 100 Chicana Historians,” which chronicles the lives and careers of Chicanas in academia over 50 years to demonstrate the importance of their contributions to the field of History.

Her much anticipated next exhibition on Latinx youth movements (forthcoming 2025) for the Molina Family Latino Gallery will demonstrate how Latinx youth have changed the world through civic engagement and political action. Prior to joining the Smithsonian Institution, Salazar-Porzio earned her M.A. (2008) and Ph.D. (2010) in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California. She was an Associate Research Scholar and Lecturer at the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia University Law School and received grants and fellowships from the Guggenheim, Rockefeller, and National Science Foundations. Originally from East Los Angeles, Salazar-Porzio now lives in Virginia with her husband, son, and their two cats.