Dr. Javier Moreno-Rivero, Assistant Professor of Translation and Intercultural Studies, received a Seed Grant from the CUNY Black, Race & Ethnic Studies Initiative (BRESI) in recognition of the potential of his project ‘Breaking Barriers for Inclusive Communication: A Repository of Language Access Policies’, to make important contributions in the field of Black, Race and Ethnic Studies. 

The Seed Grant program is designed to support the early stages of research by providing funding to gather preliminary data, develop proof-of-concept studies or explore novel ideas that can lead to external funding or broader research initiatives. BRESI is an historic initiative, supported by the Mellon Foundation, with the overarching goal of reimagining and transforming University programs in Black, Race and Ethnic Studies. Throughout 2024-25, Prof. Moreno-Rivero will be designated as BRES Faculty Fellow, and will investigate the legislation managing language access in New York.

Moreno-Rivero holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, and his expertise spans applied and sociolinguistics, translation studies, law and language, sociology and political science, with a particular focus on language barriers. He is a leading scholar in these fields: he has published extensively, belongs to the editorial board of top-ranked journals, such as The International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, and is an elected member of the Romance Linguistics Special Group of the Modern Language Association. 

Prior to his appointment at John Jay, Moreno-Rivero worked in universities across the UK and the US, and he has been invited to speak at international conferences and symposia at London, Cambridge, Mexico, McGill, MIT, Princeton, Sevilla and Geneva, among others. 

Three John Jay professors received BRESI fellowships in 2023 and ten were awarded BRESI grants in 2022.