We are looking for leaders !
Leadership Team
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Co-Presidents
Serena Archila Varinia Tapia Treasurer currently vacant. Please volunteer :) |
Committee Leaders
Indigenous Parliament
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Faculty Advisors
Derrick Hindery
Associate Professor, University of Oregon
Derrick Hindery from International Ducks on Vimeo.
Dr. Derrick Hindery is a geographer and Associate Professor in the Department of International Studies at the University of Oregon. He has conducted collaborative research in Bolivia with Chiquitano/Monkóx, Guarayo, Ayoreo and other indigenous peoples since the late 1990s on the effects of pipelines and mines built by multinational corporations (e.g. Enron and Shell) and financed by international financial institutions on indigenous communities and the environment. Professor Hindery is the author of From Enron to Evo: Pipeline Politics, Global Environmentalism, and Indigenous Rights in Bolivia. He has supported various community initiatives in Bolivian indigenous territories, including non-timber forest products (e.g. medicinal oils), ecotourism, handicrafts, music, environmental education, institutional strengthening and outreach. He previously worked at Amazon Watch, where he was involved with campaigns supporting indigenous peoples in Colombia (e.g. the U'wa in their struggles against Occidental Petroleum) and Ecuador (Chevron/Texaco).
Jose Martinez
Sociology Professor, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno
Professor José Martinez has served as the head of Sociology at the Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University (UAGRM) in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. A sociologist who conducts research on development, social movements, indigenous peoples, extractive industries and the environment, Martinez has served as a university professor at UAGRM since 1997. He is an associate investigator at the Center for Social Investigation in Support of Development (CISAD) and a member of the science committee. On a national level, he is a member of Bolivia’s Climate Justice Program. Martinez has published books and articles on forest management, deforestation, indigenous rights, indigenous history, impacts of fire on ecosystem biodiversity, protected areas and indigenous territories. He has taught courses on the anthropology of the Amazon, Chaco and Eastern Lowlands of Bolivia; Evaluation of Social and Environmental Impacts; Political Sociology; Research Methods and Techniques and Community Forestry. He worked with the territorial planning office (CPTI) at the lowland national indigenous organization (CIDOB), heading up the satellite imagery and Geographic Information Systems unit, produced an Atlas of indigenous territories in Bolivia and worked with indigenous peoples to map and was instrumental in the creation of various large-scale indigenous territories in the country. Professor Martinez has been featured in several TV interviews on topics such as extractive industries, indigenous rights, gender and environment and politics.
Zulma Villegas
Environmental Researcher
Zulma Villegas Gomez’s passion for science and technology led her to study computer science at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón (Higher University of San Simón), located in Cochabamba, Bolivia, but her inclination towards people encouraged her to become a geographer, working with communities and the environment, particularly as a systems specialist of geographic information (GIS) and remote sensing. In recent years she has been involved in several research teams related to indigenous peoples, the environment and socio-environmental evaluation. Currently, her area of interest is the relationship between the environment and society, focused mainly on deforestation processes in Bolivia. She has collaborated with two important research centers: the Noel Kempff Mercado Natural History Museum (MHNNKM-UAGRM) as Head of the Geography and Informatics Laboratory, and the Center for Planning of Indigenous Territories (CPTI) within the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of the Bolivia (CIDOB).
Photos from the 2019 Study Abroad "Indigenous Rights & Environmental Justice" Program
Students of the 2019 Study Abroad program had an opportunity to meet with WWF Bolivia and Activa.
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2019 participants of the first cohort of GEO Study Abroad Students for Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice in Bolivia are seen here walking through one of the towns in Lomerio.
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