Mara Goldman

Mara Goldman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she also serves as Director of the Environment and Society Program at the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS). She holds affiliate positions with the Gender and Women’s Studies Program and the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies. Dr. Goldman earned her PhD in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2006), an MS in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from UW-Madison (2001), and an MA in Geography from UCLA (1998). She previously conducted post-doctoral research at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi.

Her research integrates feminist political ecology and science studies, focusing on:

• Knowledge politics in conservation and development
• Wildlife conservation governance
• Pastoralist resource management under climate change
• Gendered dynamics of resource access
• Decolonizing conservation practices

She has conducted fieldwork for over 20 years with Maasai communities in East Africa and recently expanded to tribal communities in India.

Goldman's publications demonstrate strong thematic consistency in political ecology and conservation studies, with recent work emphasizing ontological approaches to environmental knowledge, community-based conservation during crises (e.g., COVID-19), and technological applications like drone monitoring. Her scholarship increasingly engages with decolonial frameworks across global contexts from East Africa to North America.

Current major projects include:

• International collaboration on COVID-19 impacts on dryland communities and conservation
• Comparative analysis of decolonizing conservation practices worldwide

She advises graduate students in human-environment geography and leads the Environment and Society program at IBS.