Brenda Boonabaana

Brenda Boonabaana serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment within the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research integrates feminist theory with sustainable development practice across African contexts, particularly focusing on Uganda through community-engaged methodologies.

Education

• PhD in Tourism (Sustainable Tourism & Gender specialty), University of Otago, New Zealand (2012)
• MA in Land Use and Regional Development, Makerere University, Uganda (2006)
• BA Education (Geography major), Makerere University, Uganda (2001)

Dr. Boonabaana's scholarship critically examines gender-responsive approaches to climate resilience, sustainable tourism, and agricultural systems. Her work combines feminist geography with participatory methods to analyze power dynamics in conservation, urban development, and food security. Recent projects emphasize women smallholder farmers' adaptive capacities and indigenous communities' engagement with tourism economies, consistently centering Global South perspectives through decolonial frameworks.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals three dominant thematic clusters: (1) Gendered climate adaptation in Ugandan agriculture, (2) Feminist urban transformations in African cities, and (3) Power dynamics in indigenous tourism economies. Her methodological signature combines qualitative depth with mixed-methods rigor, frequently employing community-based participatory research to challenge top-down development paradigms.

Scientific Recognition

• UNDP Award of Excellence for Human Development Reporting in Uganda (2016)
• African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellow (2015)
• IFPRI Fellow under GAAP2 project (2017-2018)
• Beahrs Environmental Leadership Programme Alumnus (2016)

As Co-PI of the USAID-funded ALL-IN Project through UC Davis, Dr. Boonabaana leads gender-integrated agricultural research while mentoring emerging scholars through the GREAT program. Her advisory work extends to UN agencies including UNWTO (serving as Regional Field Expert for Africa) and IFPRI, where she shapes gender-responsive methodologies for international development programming. Current grant portfolio focuses on women's tourism entrepreneurship and climate-resilient food systems.

Through her role as Editorial Board Member for Gender, Place and Culture and Review Editor for Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism, she actively cultivates feminist scholarship while maintaining field engagement with Ugandan communities. Her collaborative networks span Makerere University, Cornell University (GREAT program), and international agricultural research centers.