Biography

I am a social geographer with two broad areas of research interest that connect in many ways and often overlap: Guatemala/Violence/Development/Justice and Migration/Transnationalism/Refugee Studies.

I am a Professor of Geography and Chair of the Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UNBC (newly re-named in April 2021). Since July 2020, I have been honoured to Chair the Conference of Latin American Geography (CLAG) organization. CLAG is the premier organization for geographers engaging in research in Latin America and the Caribbean and works to foster research, education, and service related to Latin American geographical studies. I consider myself a long-time insurgent researcher and social justice advocate, including more than 25 years grappling with the afterlives of the Guatemalan genocides.

I have been fortunate to work with Grahame Russell of Rights Action for almost 20 years to organize and facilitate field schools to Guatemala for undergraduate and graduate students. We recently co-edited the book "Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala" which will be published by Between the Lines Press in October 2021. A contract to publish a previous version of this manuscript was abruptly terminated by international academic publisher Springer Nature in July 2020 - a strange tale that we detail here in an open/public letter.

My book, Transnational Ruptures: Gender and Forced Migration (2006), on issues of Guatemalan political violence and forced migration to Canada, was published by Ashgate.

Finally, a former graduate student, Jennifer Reade, and I published a revised version of her MA thesis as: Empowering Women: Community Development in Rural Guatemala.

Selected Publications