Desiree Valadares

Desiree Valadares is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, affiliated with the Department of Geography and Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies (ACAM). Her work bridges cultural geography, environmental history, and decolonial practice through architectural and landscape methodologies.

• PhD, UC Berkeley (Architectural History)
• M.Arch, McGill University
• MLA, University of Guelph
• B.Arts Sc., McMaster University

Her research focuses on territoriality, empire, and infrastructural reparations in Canada and the non-contiguous U.S., particularly examining WWII confinement sites in Hawai‘i, Alaska, and British Columbia. She theorizes repair through Asian North American-Indigenous relations and studies dust’s role in maintaining bi-national roadways like the Alaska Highway.

Scientific Awards:

• SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2022)
• CCA Research Fellowship (2022)

Valadares mentors students in environmental histories, public-engaged scholarship, and creative research outputs. She is professionally affiliated with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) and the BC Society of Landscape Architects (non-stamp).