Biography

Biograhy

Marie Estelle Picouto was born in Staten Island, New York and at the age of four immigrated to Puerto Rico. She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with degrees in Anthropology, Sociology and graduate degree in Cultural Creativity and Entrepreneurship. Her projects had obtained international recognition and won countless awards, among them are the Europe Telemedicine Award, in Spain and the Innovative Public Health Award, in Sydney, Australia in 2004. In 2016 she was awarded with the University of Puerto Rico Dean’s Award for her thesis project "A Community Radio for the Education of the Hispanic Community in Horry County, SC​​" and the High Distinction Award by the Department of Humanities Graduate Program. This project was sponsored by Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC. In 2017 she was selected as Spotlight Professor in County College of Morris in New Jersey. In 2020 her novel Estelita won first place as the best historical novel at the International Latino Books Awards and was also awarded Honor Distinction by Luis Munoz Marin Foundation in Puerto Rico. Again in 2021, Estelita won first place in PEN International. Estelita is based on historical and genealogical data she researched for twenty-five years and that covers the period of time between the years 1800 to 1950. Currently, she is working on the sequel to her novel Estelita, which will be titled “Estelita; What I Didn’t Tell You”. 

Education

University of Puerto Rico, Main Campus, 2016 

Teaching Areas

Intercultural Communication, Cultural Affairs, Puerto Rican Migration, Spanish as a Second Language

Research Areas

Migration, Genealogy, Puerto Rican Migration, Horry County SC Hispanic Migration, Forensic Genealogy, Demographic Movements,  Design, execution, and evaluation of community-based projects