2acces.org - Gisela FrÌas

Gisela Frías

e-mail : gisela.frias@mail.mcgill.ca

CONTACT INFORMATION
gisela.frias@mail.mcgill.ca

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS
Latin America, community based environmental decision-making, community organizing, the commons, indigenous peoples, academic-community research collaboration, qualitative and participatory methodologies.

EDUCATION
Ph.D. 2003 McGill University, Department of Geography
“The Changing Face of Community Based Environmental Decision Making in Huitzilac, State of Morelos, Mexico.”
Supervisor: Dr. Thom Meredith
Committee Members: Dr. Oliver Coomes and Dr. Philip Oxhorn

M.A. 1996 Concordia University, Public Policy and Public Administration
“The Growth of a Myth: A Case Study of Chile’s Accession to the North American Free Trade Agreement.”
Supervisor: Dr. Harold Chorney

B.A. 1994 The University of Western Ontario, Economics and Political Science

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Lecturer
Concordia University, Department of Geography, January 2004 - Present
Course Title: Environment: Historical and Cultural Perspective

Teaching Assistant
McGill University, Department of Geography and the McGill School of Environment, 1997-2002
Course Titles: Environmental analysis and management, Geography of the world economy, Environmental research, and Knowledge ethics and the environment.

PUBLICATIONS
Refereed Publications
2002. Meredith, Thomas and Gisela Frias. “Cross Cultural Participation in Sustainable Development: Canadian Academic Involvement with Mexican ENGOs.” Human Ecology Review 9.1: 77-81.

Chapters in Books
2000. Meredith, Thomas, Gregory Yetman and Gisela Frias. “Empowerment Marginalization and Public Participation in Community Based Biodiversity Conservation: Mexican and Canadian Case Studies of Spatial Information Management.” In Craig, W.J., T. Harris and D. Weiner Eds. Empowerment, Marginalization and Public Participation: Report of Specialists Meeting. London: Taylor and Francis.

Reports
2003. Frias, Gisela. “Invasion Forestal: Khla Nagnegei Taiñ Weichangepan.” A Report to the IDRC. Available on line http://network.idrc.ca/ev.php?ID=5673_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
1999. Frias, Gisela and Margarita Hurtado. 1999. “Huitzilac, un bosque visto desde quienes lo habitan.” La Jornada, December 16.

In-Preparation
“Resistance to Conservation in the land of Zapata”. Abstract submitted to the 10th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP).
“Academic-Indigenous collaboration: Doing research with the Mapuche”
“Academic-community partnership for Environmental Sustainability”

PRESENTATIONS

Invited Lectures and Presentations

2003, March 20. International Development Research Center, Ottawa, Canada. “The Expansion of Forest Plantations on Mapuche Territory” Presentation of research findings.

2001, January 28. Concordia University, Department of Women’s Studies. Invited to lecture on the experience of rural women organizing for environmental sustainability in Mexico.

2001, May 10. McGill University, Department of Culture and Values, Faculty of Education. Invited to lecture on Academic-community collaboration for community organizing and environmental action.Panels and Workshops

2001 Organized, facilitated and presented in “Bridging Community and University: Research Tools for Social Justice and Environmental Sustainability”. Workshop presented by ACCES (Academic Community Cooperation for Environmental Sustainability), McGill University.

2001 Organized, facilitated and presented in “Popular Education Workshop Series". Workshop presented by ACCES, McGill University.

2000 Organized, facilitated and presented “Methodological Alternatives, A Marketplace”. Presented “The Fotonovela as a Participatory Research Tool, The Organizational Experience of Las Golondrinas". McGill University. Workshop presented by ACCES, McGill University.

1999 Organized, facilitated and presented “Linking environmental research, activism and education". Workshop presented by ACCES, McGill University.

1999 Organized, facilitated and presented "Experiences with advocacy work, applied and participatory research". Panel presented by ACCES, McGill University.

1997 Organized “Consortium for Community-based Biodiversity Conservation Second International Workshop: "New Tools for Supporting Environmental Decisions". McGill University. Conference presentations

2001 “Cross-cultural participation in sustainable development: Canadian academic involvement with Mexican ENGOs”. Prepared and presented for the CAG Annual Meeting, Montreal, McGill University, May 29 - June 3.

1999 "Academic and Community Cooperation for Environmental Sustainability: A Canadian-Mexican partnership project". Paper prepared and presented for the Tenth International Conference of The Society for Human Ecology: "Living with the Land: Interdisciplinary Research for Adaptive Decision Making," Macdonald Campus, McGill University, May 29.

AWARDS AND FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
2002 Research Fellow. International Development Research Center.
Competition for the award was based on a research proposal. Award consisted of a one year placement with IDRC’s Minga initiative (Managing Natural Resources, Latin America and the Caribbean) as well as funding to carry out proposed research. Designed and carried out participatory research with Mapuche communities on the expansion of forest plantations in their territory.

1997-2000 Recipient of funding from the Canadian International Development Agency's Environment and Sustainable Development Program (ESDP).
Two successful grant applications funded the implementation of an academic-community partnership between myself as a researcher, Mexican popular educators and a Mexican rural community.