Position Title
Graduate Student in Spanish Linguistics
PhD Candidate
Faculty Advisor: Cecilia Colombi
My career began in Colombia's financial sector, where I spent over 10 years in a Financial Group in progressive roles across Customer Services, Risk Management, Contracts, and Compliance. As a Compliance Officer, I participated in multiple financial industry associations where we analyzed the most complex customer complaints, primarily caused by legal-technical language barriers. I witnessed firsthand how inaccessible legal language impacts people's fundamental rights, including their financial assets and security.
This realization led me to pursue advanced studies in the United States, where I earned my LL.M. from UC Davis School of Law (2020), followed by an M.A. in Spanish Linguistics (2022). Currently, I'm completing my PhD which combines linguistics and law, specializing in Plain Legal Language in multilingual environments, with a focus on social impact.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-gonzalez-bastidas?ipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BLGnqhTUdQbebEQqG0aE8tA%3D%3D
- M.A. in Spanish, University of California, Davis
- Masters in Law, University of California Davis School of Law, Davis, CA (2020)
- Financial Specialist Lawyer, Andes University, Bogotá, Colombia (2014)
- Bachelor’s Degree in Law, Nueva Granada University, Bogotá, Colombia (2013)
- First Prize for an Outstanding Presentation of Freedom of Speech: Social Media US Legal System, UC Davis School of Law. UC Davis School of Law Scholarship which is based on the outstanding record of academic and professional accomplishment achieved.
- Outstanding Teaching award, 2025
- UC Davis Global Grad Grant recipient, 2025 for globally-focused research on linguistic justice and accessibility.
- Summer 2025 Dissertation Writing Fellowship
- Funding to attend Academic conferences 2024-2025 both nationally and internationally
- HIA Research Fellowship, 2024 for conference presentation at 106th Annual AATSP conference
- SPA 1, SPA 1Y, SPA 2, SPA 3, SPA 3V, SPA 31, SPA 32, SPA 33.
- Elementary Spanish (SPA 1-3): Lead TA (2020-2022)
- Heritage Spanish Program (SPA 31-33): Lead TA (2024-2025)
- Spanish Linguistics and Law
- In my linguistic studies, I am focused on creating guidelines that would help legal professionals to simplify the language of contracts and other legal documents.
- 2025 González-Bastidas, A. & Ortega-Pérez, A. M. Adopt a Doc: Linguistic Justice from University to Community. PLAIN eJournal, 7(1), 26–31. This article presents a multimodal university-to-community initiative applying Plain Language and Systemic Functional Linguistics to promote linguistic justice through document transformation.
- Co-founder | Latine Co-Lab, UC Davis | 2023 - Present
- Graduate Student Representative | Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UC Davis | 2021 - 2022 and 2025-2026
- Member, Board of Directors | International House, Davis | 2025 - Present
- Member | International Association of Plain Language | 2024 - Present
- Member | Clarity, International Association of Plain Legal Language | 2024 - Present
- Volunteer | Santiago Law Firm | 2023 - Present
- Co-graduate Student Advisor | UC Davis Spanish Club | 2020 - 2021