The Team

Prof James Ford is a Priestley Chair in Climate Adaptation at the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures, University of Leeds. James has led large multi-region grants partnering with Indigenous communities and decision-makers on the global north and south scales.

Carol is a Quechua Peruvian researcher. Her areas of specialty include Indigenous and Intercultural Health, Climate Change, and Food and Nutrition Security.

PhD candidate Ingrid Arotoma is a Quechua researcher born in the Central Amazon rainforest of Peru. Ingrid's research has focused on understanding Indigenous Peoples' food system changes due to climate change and other drivers.

Dr. Joana is a researcher and assistant Professor at Rhodes University. Joana has research experience in Brazil, Europe, and South Africa in community-based research projects in social environmental science, managing research projects at the local level with international impact.

Quechua sociologist based in Peru, researching about adaptation to climate change among Peruvian Indigenous peoples.

PhD Adelina Mensah is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana. She has an interdisciplinary background in environmental sciences with a focus on ecosystems and the human dimensions that impact its management and sustainability.

Anita Varghese is Director at Keystone Foundation which works in the Nilgiris biosphere reserve and other regions of India. Anita leads the Biodiversity team at Keystone which undertakes research projects on Human-wildlife interactions, Apiculture, Ecological Restoration, Field Courses, and Climate Change.

PhD Candidate, and MSc holder. Cecil Togarepi is a Lecturer at the University of Namibia with a background in Agricultural Economics. His interests are in agribusiness, agricultural development, value chain development, encroacher bush value addition, climate change adaptation, livelihood resilience, and food security.

MSc Didacus Namanya works with the Ministry of Health and Uganda National Health Research Organisation (UNHRO), leading public health mapping, co-managing international research projects on Indigenous health & climate change.

Professor Eranga Galappaththi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Virginia Tech, USA. Eranga led Indigenous research in Sri Lanka. His research is focused on climate change adaptation in remote Indigenous communities and their local food systems.

Prof. Harald Kaechele is an agricultural economist by training and works as a Senior Scientist at the Department of Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries at the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) in Muencheberg, Germany. In addition to numerous other memberships, he is also the federal chairman of the German Environmental Aid ( DUH) and the chairman of the board of trustees of the Tropical Forest Foundation OroVerde.

J Jaime Miranda is a Professor and the Head of School of the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health. His research bridges epidemiological and health policy aspects of chronic non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Tristan Pearce is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chair of the Northern Studies Program, and the Canada Research Chair in the Cumulative Impacts of Environmental Change at the University of Northern British Columbia. He is internationally recognized for advancing Indigenous governance in research by pioneering an approach where Indigenous communities manage research funds and oversee research activities.

Guangqing Chi is a professor of rural sociology and demography and Director of the Computational and Spatial Analysis Core at Penn State. He studies the interactions of human populations with the built and natural environments and identifies important assets to help vulnerable populations adapt and become resilient to climate changes.

Keith Hyams is a professor of Political theory and ethics and the University of Warwick, UK. Prof. Keith is interested in democratic design and the use of methods from philosophical ethics to contribute to research on technological, environmental, health, and social challenges.

Sherilee Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health, Kule Scholar, and Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Prof. Sherilee researches the associations between weather, environment, and health equity in the context of climate change.

MSc Bhavya George is a Climate change program coordinator at the Keystone Foundation, India as a Programme. Bhavya focuses on engaging with local and indigenous communities in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve on Climate change knowledge, impacts, and actions.

Chrishma Pereras a Master's Student in Geography at Virginia Polytechnic and State University, USA. She is from Sri Lanka. Chrishma is passionate about Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Health, and Sustainability.

Dr. Dhanya Vijayan is a Geographer working as a Research Scientist at the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany. Dhanya researches the key impacts of tropical rainforest conversion on forest-dependent indigenous peoples and the loss of their traditional ecological knowledge related to forest change.

MSc Francis Awaafo Akugre is an early career researcher. Francis's research focuses on the climate change-food security and health nexus among indigenous societies in lower-middle-income countries, including vulnerable groups in society.

Indunil Dharmasiri is a master’s student in Geography at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States. She contribute to IPON as a Research Assistant of the Sri Lanka research team. Indunil currently works in research areas such as climate change adaptations, vulnerability, Indigenous Peoples, and entrepreneurship.

Sithuni Mimasha is a Geography Master's degree student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is originally from Sri Lanka. Sithuni focuses on topics related to Indigenous peoples, climate change, resilience, and food systems.

Dr. John Paul Cauchi is a senior lecturer in Public Health at QMUL’s Bart’s Medical School in Gozo Campus, Malta. Dr John hasconsolidated skills in quantitative research, literature reviews, report writing, journal editing, and data analysis.

Dr. Jonathan Nkalubo is a Medical Doctor at Mulago National Referral Hospital. His areas of research include; Infectious Diseases, One health, Indigenous Peoples's health systems, Health financing, and health equity.

Dr. Jyotsna Krishnakumar is a Director at Keystone Foundation, where she manages multiple field implementation and research projects focusing on Indigenous well-being linked to traditional food systems, health, and wellness.

Dr. Kerrie Pickering is a Research Associate in the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre at Brock University. Kerries' research interests sit at the nexus of health, environmental sustainability, and food security.

MSc Martha Hangula is an Agricultural Economist who specializes in Agricultural and Resource Economics. Her research interests areas are Food systems and Food Security, Climate adaptation and resilience, Indigenous people, Agricultural extension and technology adoption studies as well as Socio-economic studies.

Michelle Dickson, is an Associate Professor, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academic, and Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, University of Sydney. Prof Dickson researches and contributes cultural knowledge, Koori lived experiences of research, and expertise in Indigenous research methodologies.

Nosipho Nkwinti is a South African researcher with a commitment to community development practices that honor indigenous systems. Nosipho's background is rich in building and nurturing mutually beneficial relationships within indigenous communities.

BSc Richard Nuwagira is a researcher at Uganda National Health Research Organization who studies climate change risks, health, and food security examining emerging livelihood skills.

Bachelor of Science with a major in Nutrition. Research assistant in the Intercultural Citizenship and Indigenous Health Unit at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia with an interest in research in evaluating the diet from a culturally appropriate approach and promoting biodiversity.