Gabriela Olivares is the Associate Dean of the Graduate College and an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Northern Iowa. She has worked as a K-12 English teacher in Chile, as well as an elementary and high school Spanish teacher in the state of Iowa. Her home department is Languages and Literatures, where she specializes in Spanish Teaching and is an integral member of the Teacher Education Preparation Program at the University of Northern Iowa. Dr. Olivares prepares pre-service education students, supports local K-12 Spanish teachers, oversees 50 graduate programs, and advocates for diversity and inclusion at all levels of education.

Dr. Olivares received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Her research interests include second/foreign language acquisition and methodology, individual differences, working memory and the use of technology-enhanced language learning tools among traditional and non-traditional students. She has published over 17 refereed articles, presented at over 35 conferences, has participated and secured funds for 5 grant projects, and has been the recipient of five awards, such as The Veridian Community Engagement Award (Iowa) in 2009.

Dr. Olivares has demonstrated leadership through many different experiences, namely, serving as the Diversity Fellow, serving on the Teacher Education Diversity Committee and Secondary Teaching Methods Senate in her home institution. In addition, she has worked as a site reviewer for Teacher Education programs, and participated in several accreditation assignments. She maintains an active research agenda and is a regular presenter at foreign language teaching conferences.