Irene Blea

What does a retired tenured sociology professor from California State University-Los Angeles do well? Irene Blea(PhDSoc’80) did not just write a series of classroom textbooks and novels that mostly focus on women’s issues. The New Mexico Humanities Council scholar also regularly reenacts the life of Dona Tules, the “Lady Gambler of Santa Fe”— one of the state’s most controversial historical figures — on stages across New Mexico. Irene lives in Albuquerque.