Jon Dell Jaramillo is a survivor, scholar, artist, and passionate educator whose extraordinary journey exemplifies resilience, creativity, and dedication to social justice. After surviving a life-altering AIDS diagnosis in 1992, Jon embraced life with renewed urgency and discovered powerful creative expression through writing, film, and translation. Returning to academia as a non-traditional student, he earned a BA at age 50 and a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures at age 61 from the University of Oregon, where he specialized in Translation Studies and queer Latin American narratives.

Jon’s research is groundbreaking, bridging queer studies, contagion theory, and Latin American life narratives to critically examine how marginalized bodies and identities navigate oppressive power structures. His award-winning dissertation, Viral Bodies: AIDS and Other Contagions in Latin American Life Narrative, challenges conventional historical narratives, offering nuanced perspectives on queer resilience within transnational contexts. As author of the influential Queering Translation Manifesto, Jon advocates for culturally sensitive, politically engaged approaches to translation, exemplified by his published translation of Michel Estrada's The Neurosurgeon.

Committed to empowering students and fostering critical thinking, Jon actively promotes equity, inclusion, and LGBTQIA rights in his teaching and community engagement at the University of Oregon. His work reflects a profound belief in global queer liberation, embodying a lifelong fight for human rights and dignity for all.