Received Sylff Fellowship in 2007-09.
Marcela is an anthropologist that received a PhD in Japanese Studies from El Colegio de Mexico, a Master's in Asian Studies from Sophia University, and who graduated in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of Buenos Aires. In Japan she has been a researcher at Keio University, while in Mexico has taught at El Colegio and at the University of Guadalajara. Her topics are migration, gender, human trafficking, citizenship and tourism.
A migrant herself who became the first university graduate of her extended family, she focuses on Nikkei diaspora, while trying to inspire students to pursue their dreams. She has volunteered at an NGO supporting migrants in Tokyo, and more recently volunteered interpreting from Mexico in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.
She is a civil society believer, an avid runner and scuba diver.
