The Anthropologist

I am an environmental social scientist specializing in the political ecology of forest conservation in Latin America. My work examines how international climate policies intersect with local communities’ knowledge, worldviews, and rights, with a focus on inclusive governance.

I earned a PhD in Applied Environmental Anthropology from the University of Maryland. My doctoral research was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF-DDRIG award #1948867) and used mixed methods to examine Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and Indigenous consultation processes in southern Costa Rica.

I hold a dual Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from American University and the University for Peace in Costa Rica. As a graduate fellow, I collaborated with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on an ethnographic study of the socio-political implications of hydroelectric dam building in Indigenous territories in Panama. 

My academic background also includes a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Vermont. As an undergraduate, I studied abroad in Belize and conducted investigations on Maya traditional ecological knowledge and community-based ecotourism, which set the stage for my future research.

An avid traveler, I love immersing myself in different cultures. I am currently based in Costa Rica, where I enjoy hiking and spending time outdoors with my husband and our two daughters.