Contact
Biography
I am a Doctoral Researcher within the School of Geography and part of the Future Food Beacon of Excellence Project "Palaeobenchmarking Resilient Agricultural Systems".
I hold a B.A. in Biology from The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City and a M.Sc in Conservation Leadership from Colorado State University (CSU) in United States of America.
My main research interests are protected areas and environmental policy, climate change adaptation and resilience, traditional ecological knowledge and community-based conservation.
Expertise Summary
Since 2009 I have worked and collaborated in different projects and organizations in United States, Mexico and Central America in topics such as protected areas management, public policy, wildlife and community-based conservation and collaborative management of socio-ecological complex systems.
Before joining The University of Nottingham, I was working as the Protected Areas Program Director at Ya'axché Conservation Trust in Southern Belize working closely with The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Immigration of the Government of Belize.
Prior to that, I also worked as Planning and Liaison Coordinator and Senior Project Advisor at The National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation and Instituto de Ecologia, UNAM in Mexico City. As well as Senior Project Manager and Conservation Adviser for The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and The National Commission on Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) in Mexico.
Research Summary
My research focuses on understanding how indigenous small-scale farmers in Latin America are building resilience and adapting to the effects of climate change and the environmental, socioeconomic and… read more
Current Research
My research focuses on understanding how indigenous small-scale farmers in Latin America are building resilience and adapting to the effects of climate change and the environmental, socioeconomic and political factors that are impacting agricultural systems, community livelihoods and food security. Specifically, I am exploring the use of knowledge of local micro-environments, traditional planting strategies and different maize varieties by small scale Maya farmers in Mexico and Belize to minimise risk to yields in the face of an increasingly variable climate.