RESEARCH
Current Work and Recent Publications
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH
Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS)
Within this large and multifaceted project, my work focuses on designing more inclusive multi-stakeholder decision-making processes related to water infrastructure in the US in partnership with government agencies and local communities. By using natural infrastructure such as levee setbacks, floodplain protection, and the restoration of wetlands and coastal habitats like marshes, reefs, and seagrass beds, we can improve drinking water quality, support coastal economies, preserve biodiversity, and protect communities from floods, droughts, and sea-level rise.
You can find a recent primer on Voluntary Buyouts for Levee Setbacks here.
For more information on the Network for Engineering with Nature, see: www.n-ewn.org.
DISSERTATION RESEARCH
TRANSLATING INDIGENOUS RIGHTS: A MULTI-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF PERU'S PRIOR CONSULTATION LAW
This research examines the implementation of international Indigenous rights and environmental governance legal instruments, focusing on the translation of the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples in the context of mining in the Peruvian Andes.
Methods used: ethnographic, archival, and policy analyses.
ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE: BROADENING ONTOLOGICAL SPACES FOR A MORE LIVABLE WORLD.
This paper uses an ontological approach to more closely examine contemporary environmental governance – its assumptions, practices, and limitations – in order to broaden our understanding of what environmental governance is and could be.
PRIOR CONSULTATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN LATIN AMERICA: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION AND THE PARTICIPATION OF INDIGENOUS WOMEN.
“INCLUSIVE BUSINESS” IN AGRICULTURE: EVIDENCE FROM THE EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS
This research critically examines the concept of "inclusive business," which has gained traction in recent years in agricultural development circles, by first developing a profiling system for agricultural value chains and then comparing the impact of crop, market, and governance features across crop types. Our findings indicate a trend towards greater exclusion of smallholder growers across value chains, which is obscured by the discourse of "inclusive business" that shifts the focus from structural factors to the behavior of individual businesses.
Read the full article here.
TOWARDS A PROFILING SYSTEM FOR INDEPENDENT SMALLHOLDERS AND MEDIUM-SCALE GROWERS: REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE ROUNDTABLE FOR SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL: MEDIUM GROWER TASK FORCE
This independent report commissioned by the RSPO sought to determine the characteristics and constraints faced by "medium-scale" oil palm growers (however defined) in 15 countries, based on interviews and literature reviews, in order to inform the development of a new certification standard directed at medium scale growers.
PLANNING, PRIORITIES, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OCONEE RIVERS GREENWAY
This research utilized interviews, social network analysis, document analyses, and spatial connectivity modeling to determine key individuals, organizations, priorities, and constraints that shape decision making processes related to the Oconee Rivers Greenway in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.
FUNDING
