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.

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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). Also, I have collaborated with colleagues in drafting the 16th and 18th UN FAO High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition Reports on “Promoting Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems” and “Reducing Inequalities for Food Security and Nutrition".

 

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.

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