Daniela Narvaez (UMASS), is the 2020 Helmut Esau Award recipient for her paper “Church role in the (re)negotiation of identities in diasporic communities: the case of Kichwa-Cañari Ecuadorians in the US”.

This award is named in honor of Helmut Esau, who was active in the early days of LASSO. Professor Esau died in an automobile accident shortly after he was elected to the LASSO presidency, and his colleagues at the time established the Esau Award to commemorate his contributions to the Linguistic Association of the Southwest and to the profession at large.

Students must first present at the Annual Meeting and then submit a revised, polished version of their paper to the LASSO Vice President. Recipients of this prestigious prize receive a $400 cash award.