Maria Cotera is an accomplished academic with a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies/Modern Thought & Literature from Stanford University. She is a former Associate Professor at Universidad de Michigan, where she directed the Chicana Por Mi Raza Digital Humanities Project. At present, she serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. Cotera is well-known for her work in digital humanities, where she has made strides in creating collaborative and community-driven digital archives.