Yadira Gonzalez

About Me

I am a graduate of Baruch College with a bachelor's degree in journalism and creative writing. My interests include film, photography, and philosophy.

My Latest Work

The RICC •

Safeguarding Originality in the Age of AI – Emily Raboteau

A quick grammar check turns into suggestions for restructured sentences to entire paragraphs being rewritten and soon enough an essay has transformed into an immaculate, lifeless body– “perfected” by AI. When students have this technology at their disposal, constantly offering help with such zeal, the temptation to resist often proves too difficult. 
In her research project, “The Ethical Use of AI in the Creative Writing Classroom,” writer and Black Studies professor Emily Raboteau investigates...
The RICC •

Building Bridges: The Future in Civil Engineering – Dr. Anil K. Agrawal

Designing structurally-sound bridges has been Anil K. Agrawal’s life’s work, for which he has won several awards. On May 1, he was honored not just for his research on the Throgs Neck or Tappan Zee–this time it was for the bridges he built with the next generation of engineers. 
Agrawal, professor and chair of the civil engineering department at City College’s Grove School of Engineering, was the 2026 recipient of the George Winter Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This re...
The RICC •

Exploring the Potential of Colloidal Systems – Dr. Ilona Kretzschmar

Chemical engineering professor Ilona Kretzschmar was elected a fellow, the highest level of membership with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, or AIChE, notwithstanding that she has never received a degree in the discipline. 
“It’s nice to be recognized by the society that I’m part of despite the fact that I was never trained in the field,” Kretzschmar said. 
With over 60,000 members from across the world, the AIChE has been connecting and recognizing professionals in the field for ov...
The RICC •

Climate and Sustainability Fellowships of the Colin Powell School at CCNY – Deborah Cheng

When Kazi Ahmed first heard about the Bloom Energy Innovation Fellowship, offered by the Collin Powell School at City College in collaboration with Bloom Energy, a manufacturer and developer of clean fuel cell energy, he admits that he was skeptical of its paid summer internship with free summer housing in Silicon Valley. “It just seemed too good to be true,” he said. 
But after landing a spot, he flew to the west coast to spend the summer immersed in the company, even giving presentations in fr...
Documented •

Lack of IDNYC Appointments Leaves Immigrant New Yorkers Lining up Before Sunrise - Documented

At the Central Library in Jamaica, Queens, more than 50 New Yorkers wait on a line, which stretches down the block, for the doors to open at 10 a.m. Many have been there since 5 a.m., hoping to secure a walk-in appointment for a municipal identification card, known as IDNYC, that can grant them access to many services, regardless of their immigration status.


Suyapa Canales, 54, an immigrant from Honduras, is one of the first to enter. For her, lining up at 5:40 a.m. for an IDNYC was a necessi...
The New York Review of Books •

The Human Landscape | Kerri Arsenault, Yadira Gonzalez

This article is part of a regular series of conversations with the Review’s contributors; read past ones here and sign up for our e-mail newsletter to get them delivered to your inbox each week.In Kerri Arsenault’s review of Morgan Talty’s short story collection Night of the Living Rez, which appeared in the Review’s July 20 issue, she asks, “What does it mean to live in a nation that’s in pieces and parts, or under another government’s control—where the boundaries are as murky and hazardous as...

Fiber Artists Knit Community Together – Dollars & Sense

Article and photos by Yadira Gonzalez | June 6, 2023
Carmen Paulino walked into her local cafe in East Harlem carrying her hot-pink crochet purse and a ladder. After meeting with a couple of students and teaching some basic stitches, Paulino went down the street to Cherry Tree Park where she hung her latest creation: a pink crochet symbol of feminism.
For years, Paulino, a community artist and yarn bomber, has been working with crocheters of all levels to create large-scale crochet art installat...

Street Vendors Respond to Being Treated Like Trash – Dollars & Sense

Article and photos by Yadira Gonzalez | May 24, 2023
On any other day, Sonia Perez toils in Maria Hernandez Park selling tamales and coffee to the neighborhood locals. But on May 6 she arrived at the Bushwick park with her shopping cart filled with coolers to the sight of a crowd excited to greet her. Perez was the first stop in the Street Vendor Project’s second annual scavenger hunt.
The game, which turned supporting food carts, trucks and stands into a friendly competition, drove players to v...

Young Latino Voters Experience a Political Awakening

By Yadira Gonzalez
Armando Alvarez, 20, a resident of Phoenix’s heavily Latino neighborhood of Maryvale, said his political awakening came not because of the turmoil surrounding the 2020 presidential election, but because of a local initiative that directly impacted his life.
​​Alvarez said that it was only after Arizona voters passed Proposition 208 in 2020 that he learned it taxed those with an income exceeding $250,000, raising money towards teachers’ salaries and school initiatives and benef...
Ad Age •

Budweiser's branded music video stars Anderson .Paak and other artists

“[.Paak] is someone who really defied the naysayers and charted his own path in the music world ... so he really embodies this message of tomorrow is yours to take and the meaning behind it,” said Todd Allen, Budweiser’s VP of global marketing.

Various ads shot during the music video production were distributed through digital and social media channels in North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.

“It’s a rally cry for a new generation of creators and entrepreneurs all around the world
Ad Age •

New DE&I organization gets backing from Unilever, GroupM and NBCU execs

A new diversity, equity and inclusion trade organization for the marketing industry is forming, and already touts the backing of executives from major brands and agencies such as Unilever, GroupM, NBCUniversal and Campbells, among others.

The goal of BRIDGE, which was founded by former MMA Global executive Sheryl Daija, is to serve as an independent organization that can help members "bridge the gaps" that have created inequities for underrepresented communities, and hold the industry accountab
Ad Age •

The top creative agencies with the biggest wins of 2021

Wieden + Kennedy was the biggest account winner on the creative agency front in 2021, according to a new COMvergence report. The independent agency secured six major accounts totaling $420 million, according to the research consultancy.

Coming in second was Omnicom Group's TBWA\Chiat\Day, which notched seven new wins representing $340 million.

The research study, released on March 31, based its findings on the amount of new business activity for creative agencies, including accounts won and re
Ad Age •

April Fools' Day—the best pranks from brands

Dr. Squatch is known for its reasonably-scented men’s care products as well as partnerships that make sense for the brand, like soaps themed for “The Batman” and “Star Wars.” Well throw those values out the window and behold Dr. Squatch’s beef jerky soap. The campaign’s attempt at enticing customers reads, “a smoky sirloin scent plus exfoliants from natural spices for a clean that will make you feel like a meaty, dry-rubbed masterpiece.” Read that last part one more time and be glad that this pr
Ad Age •

The top 10 brand audio logos ranked by effectiveness

Veritonic, the audio research and analytics platform, published an annual report on the brands and industries in the U.S. that have produced the most effective audio logos in the past year.

The logos are ranked based on how successfully brands could get 2,800 panelists to recall the ad, associate it with the brand and resonate with the content. Melodic logos that mention the brand tend to score higher among listeners.

The podcasting industry had an estimated 120 million podcast listeners in th
Ad Age •

Peroni urges consumers to 'live every moment' in new campaign

Peroni's global team partnered with the U.K.-based ad agency Trouble Maker to bring the campaign to U.S. and international markets. Molson Coors holds the U.S. marketing and distribution rights for the brand.

The campaign, which debuted on March 14, will run on TV in select markets including New York, Miami and Los Angeles, and encourages the purchase of Peroni on draft at local bars. The brand will also run ads on social media.

The timing for this campaign was contingent on the lifting of COV
Ad Age •

Brands that have filed metaverse trademarks—and what it all means

The nascent metaverse, which is an immersive online world that incorporates an enhanced reality with other emerging technologies, is welcoming new brands on a daily basis. Amid the rise of NFTs and Web3, the next iteration of the internet, brands ranging from Nike to defunct Blockbuster have actively sought to claim prospective assets by filing trademarks. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has seen a surge of registrations for brands to protect themselves in these digital worlds.

“T
Ad Age •

Where are they now—Ad Age Leading Women Europe 2016

Every year, Ad Age honors a class of women in the advertising, marketing and media world. Women in Europe were first recognized in 2016 for their expertise and achievement in their respective fields. Each of the 20 women awarded at the Ad Age Women to Watch Europe ceremony in London had made great strides for major markets located in the U.K. and Western Europe. Six years later, these women continue their legacies, having earned numerous promotions and accolades for their accomplishments.

As we
Ad Age •

Merrell's women-led campaign aims to make outdoors more inclusive

As Women's History Month begins, hiking footwear brand Merrell is encouraging women to get outdoors in a new campaign created by a female-led team. The push, which debuted today, pokes fun at self-care routines that can make women feel inadequate or lacking.

A 60-second spot, titled “More Less,” follows a series of women as they put down their gold dumbbells and vibrating face masks, and other trends that "keep telling us, you need more this to be more than that," a voiceover says.

"We're more

Open Streets Program: Should It Stay or Should It Go? – Dollars & Sense

After a week of school and work, college student Vicki Kanellopoulous usually enjoys a night out with her friends, driving around and finding spots to eat. She often visits Astoria, Queens, known for its Mediterranean cuisine. She parks her car a few blocks down the road and walks past the barricades onto Ditmars Boulevard. Every weekend, the street is closed off to all motor traffic and dining tables and families have replaced buses and cars.

“It’s a good thing for weekend nights,” Kanellopoul

Young Fashion Designers on Cusp of Industry’s Sustainability Shift – Dollars & Sense

Big-name designers often dominate conversations about issues in the fashion world, with high-profile appearances during events such as New York’s Fashion Week and the Met Gala. But the world is changing and the next generation of designers is leading the conversation when it comes to making fashion more ethical, inclusive, accessible, and sustainable.

Lee Haskett, a design student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, finds monetary greed to be a leading factor in the lack of