A graduate of the University of Michigan, Nelson has been a member of the faculty at Central Washington University since 1999 and currently serves as the director of the Ethnic Studies program. He teaches a wide range of classes including Minority Groups, Ethnic Awareness, Social Movements, Political Sociology, the Sociology of Sport, Sociology of Education, and Sociology of the Future. His research interests center on the study of social movements and has published several articles on various dimensions of social movements as well as a book (co-authored) on the Associated Farmers of California, a fascist pro-business social movement of the 1930s. He is currently focused on right-wing mobilizations and the Mexicano farmworker movement of the 1930s. Pichardo Almanzar, Nelson A. and Kulik, Brian W. 2013. "American Fascism and the New Deal: The Associated Farmers of California and the Pro-Industrial Movement". Lexington Books Pichardo Almanzar, Nelson A. and Cedric Herring. 2004. "Sacrificing for the Cause: Another Look at High-Risk/Cost Activism." Race and Society, Volume 7: 113-129. Pichardo Almanzar, Nelson A. 2003. "Social Movement Theories and the Future: An Examination of the Works of Alvin Toffler." International Journal of Futures Studies Vol. 5. Pichardo Almanzar, Nelson A. 2003. "Framing the User: Social Constructions of Marijuana Users and the Medical Marijuana Movement." Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences. | 
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