About Me

Allillanchu and Kia ora, Welcome to my website! I am a native Peruvian Indigenous scholar with strong links to Aotearoa New Zealand, after having lived there for over twenty five years. My lived experiences have inspired a collaborative and cross-cultural approach to my work in food and environmental justice, sustainable development, Indigenous studies, and public policy. My community-based work and service are dedicated to advancing Indigenous peoples' self-determination aspirations, food sovereignty, and collective flourishing. 

 

In 2021, I joined Syracuse University to help build the Global Indigenous Cultures and Environmental Justice Research Centre and Department. I am also a faculty affiliate/associate across several programs and departments, such as the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Women’s and Gender Studies Department, Democratizing Knowledge Collective, and the Program on Latin America & the Caribbean.

​

I am an active member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a Lead Author in the Global Report on the ‘values’ assessment of nature for the Intergovernmental Panel of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES). Additionally, I have collaborated with colleagues in drafting the 16th and 18th UN FAO High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition reports, titled “Promoting Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems” and “Reducing Inequalities for Food Security and Nutrition.” Recently, I have been a member of the UNESCO Indigenous and Local Knowledge Expert Task Force for the mandate 2024-2028.

 

My book “Recovering Our Ancestral Foodways" is a celebration of the lore of Quechua and Māori and of the world’s Indigenous peoples in safeguarding food systems, innovation, practices, and, ultimately, the well-being of humankind.

​

​