Maria Zazzarino is a PhD candidate in the Comparative Literature Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her areas of interest include extractivism and environmental justice, with a particular focus on the cultural production from Latin America and the Caribbean. At UCSB, Maria is a member of the Re-centering Energy Justice Collaborative, where she co-created the public syllabus "Energy Justice on the California Central Coast." She has a forthcoming article in Media+Environment and her previous work has been featured in Comparative Literature Studies, Mondes Francophones, and Asymptote. Previously, Maria completed her BA and MA in English Literary Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, her Masters' degree in Arts Administration at UC3M, and she was a Fulbright-awardee at Louisiana State University. Maria has also worked on a number of public-facing projects including exhibitions and literary events in institutions such as MATADERO Madrid, Hay Festival for Literature and the Arts, Segovia, and Ministerio de Cultura. Currently, Maria is a Research Assistant for the Global Latinidades Center, assisting in organization, communications, and translation projects. She is the curator of the contemporary art exhibit Donde cruzan los humos espero una semilla (La Casa Encendida, Madrid).