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Dr. Gangotena has taught courses in public speaking at Blinn College
Bryan Campus since 1998. While at Blinn, she has actively participated
in various professional development opportunities that the College
offers to faculty. As a member of the Bryan Blinn Professional
Association, she has chaired various committees. She has also been
a member of the Professional Development Committee, and at present
she is member of the Board of the Christian Faculty Network, as
well as faculty advisor to the College Republicans at Blinn College.
Margarita Gangotena earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Speech Communication
from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Her areas of
research and interest are organizational and group communication,
health communication, international-intercultural communication,
and political persuasion. Her B.A is in Child Psychology and Nursery
School Education, an interest that she pursued at the master’s
level through counseling courses and a two-year directed practicum
in child counseling.
Dr. Gangotena brings into the classroom not only her education
but also her years of experience as an educator, a business manager
in both the public and private sectors, and an educational and
corporate consultant. Among her various endeavors is her contribution
to the establishment and coordination of the Foreign Studies Degree
Program, a bachelor’s degree program at the University of
Minnesota. She was also one of the founders and a board member
of the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (now with campuses
in Florida and in Ecuador) where she also designed the College
of Communication. In her work with Brazos Valley Community Action,
and know with ChildreNiños Bilingual Education Foundation,
she has trained children caseworkers and preschool directors and
teachers.
Margarita Gangotena has taught at Texas A&M University, the
University of Minnesota, and the University of Houston-Downtown,
and has trained managers at various management oriented training
centers. She teaches graduate courses in management, communications,
and educational leadership in the U.S. and overseas through Central
Michigan University, the Latin American University for Leadership,
and the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito. She has experience
developing and designing instructional curriculum in all the above
areas.
Dr. Gangotena’s concern in community service has been a
motivating factor behind her career. She served on the board of
the Brazos Valley Symphony and at present is President of the Board
of Directors of ChildreNiños-Bicultural-Bilingual Education
Foundation. Dr. Gangotena also is Director of Development for the
Center for Hispanic Advocacy and editor-at-large of their flagship
publication, the Hispanic Advocate, and Chair of the National Republican
Hispanic Assembly of Brazos County. Moreover, she was one of the
founders and served as Secretary of the Board and head of the Advisory
Board of Houston’s first Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce.
She has also worked as a CEO for CEGAN, a family business, as manager
for Citibank-Ecuador, as a trainer in supervisory management for
Citibank-Latin America, and as a manager for Dow Chemical/Life.
For the Institute of the Child and Family, headed by Ecuador’s
First Lady, Dr. Gangotena was the coordinator of Child Protection
Communication and a researcher in Maternal-Infant Health, Communication,
and Education.
Through Gangotena Consultants and Trainers, Dr. Gangotena has
worked for large and small organizations in various endeavors.
Some of the businesses she has consulted/trained for are Powell
Industries, Citibank-Ecuador, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Control Data
Corporation, and others. Dr. Gangotena has also been sought as
a speaker on a variety of topics ranging from education to international
politics. In the Brazos Valley she has conducted workshops and
seminars on health and communication for health personnel and on
education and communication for preschool teachers and administrators.
Dr. Margarita Gangotena has been honored with various awards:
Mortar Board, the World Bank’s McNamara Fellowship, Phi Kappa,
the Order of Ski-U-Mah, and scholarships from the Fulbright organization
and from the Organization of American States. Dr. Gangotena was
awarded the Ronald Reagan Gold Medal (2004) by the National Republican
Congressional Committee and was elected to represent Texas Congressional
District 17 at the 2004 Republican Convention in New York.
Dr. Gangotena work has been recognized by various publications
such as the Directory of American Scholars, Who’s Who Among
Women in Communications, The International Who’s Who, and
Who’s Who Among Entrepreneurs. Dr. Gangotena has two children
and lives in Bryan with her daughter.
(Contact Information: Office H234,
Phone 979-209-7291 or mgangotena@blinn.edu)
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