Ana Ortega Pérez

Ana María Ortega Pérez is a Lecturer in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Translation at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She holds two doctorates: a Ph.D. in Spanish Linguistics from UC Davis, with a Designated Emphasis in Second Language Acquisition, and a Ph.D. in Communications from the Universidad de Sevilla (Spain), as well as a Master’s in International Relations from the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía (Spain) and a Bachelor’s in Journalism from the Universidad de Sevilla (Spain).

Her research focuses on heritage language education, intercultural communicative competence, plain language, critical language awareness, the use of artificial intelligence in peer review, and media studies.

At her previous institution, she coordinated the Spanish Heritage Language Program and its peer tutoring initiative. She’s the co-founder of the Latine Co-Lab, an interdisciplinary project promoting linguistic justice, plain language, and community-engaged pedagogy. 

Her teaching experience spans higher education, community-based academies, and informal learning settings, reaching learners of all ages and proficiency levels across in-person, hybrid, and online formats.