Author: Sonia M. Gangotena, Ph. D.

Sonia 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 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 practicum in child counseling.

Dr. Gangotena brings into the classroom not only her education but also her years of experience as an educator, an educational and corporate consultant, and a business manager in both the public and private sectors. She established and coordinated the Foreign Studies Degree Program, a bachelor’s degree program at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Gangotena is one of the founders of the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (now with campuses in Ecuador and Spain). She also designed the College of Communication and is a Regent at the same university. In her work with Brazos Valley Community Action and with the ChildreNiños Bilingual Education Foundation, she has trained children caseworkers, preschool directors, and teachers.

Sonia Margarita teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in management, communications, and educational leadership in the U.S. and overseas. Sonia has experience developing and designing instructional curricula in all the mentioned subjects and has used these skills through her teaching at Texas A&M University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Houston-Downtown, The Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (USFQ.ec.edu), the Latin American University for Leadership, Blinn College, Central Michigan University Extended Learning, and has trained managers at various management-oriented training centers. Presently, she teaches for the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Dr. Gangotena’s concern for community service has been a motivating factor behind her career. She is the founder and C.E.O. of Eladev and Gangotena Consultants and Trainers, and the Santiago Gangotena G. Foundation. Sonia Gangotena is CEO of Joy Recovery Ministries, a non-profit oriented to helping the bereaved and those with trauma; she also promotes mission work to the Czech Republic. For many years, Sonia was president of the Board of Directors of the Brazos School for Inquiry and Creativity, a charter school with three campuses in Bryan and Houston. She served on the board of the Brazos Valley Symphony and is a past president of the Board of Directors of ChildreNiños-Bicultural-Bilingual Education Foundation.

Dr. Gangotena was one of the founders, Secretary of the Board, and head of the Advisory Board of Houston’s first Ecuadorian American Chamber of Commerce. She worked as a CEO for CEGAN, a manager for Citibank-Ecuador, a trainer in supervisory management for Citibank-Latin America, and a manager for Dow Chemical/Life. Dr. Gangotena was the coordinator of Child Protection Communication and a researcher in Maternal-Infant Health, Communication, and Education for the Institute of the Child and Family, headed by Ecuador’s First Lady. Sonia worked as Director of Development for the Center for Hispanic Advocacy, editor-at-large of their flagship publication, the Hispanic Advocate, and Chair of the National Republican Hispanic Assembly of Brazos County.

Through Gangotena Consultants and Trainers, Dr. Gangotena has worked for large and small organizations in various endeavors. She consulted/trained for Citibank-Ecuador, Powell Industries, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Control Data Corporation, and others. She has conducted workshops and seminars on health and communication for health personnel and on education and communication for preschool teachers and administrators. Sonia Gangotena is sought as a speaker on a variety of topics ranging from education to international politics.

While teaching at Blinn College, Dr. Gangotena 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, the Board of the Christian Faculty Network, the Secretary of the Blinn College Assessment Council, and a representative and Secretary of the Blinn Faculty Senate. Dr. Gangotena was a faculty advisor to College Republicans, Pro-Life Buccaneers, and the Texas A&M Alpha Lambda Omega organization.

Dr. Sonia M. 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's work has been recognized by various publications such as the Directory of American Scholars, Who’s Who Among Women in Communications, Lexington’s Who’s Who, International Women of the Year, The International Who’s Who, Who’s Who Among Entrepreneurs, Who’s Who in the Media and Communications (1998-99), and Who’s Who Among International Professionals.