Dana James

Dana James is a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia (UBC). She holds a PhD from UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) and Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, supervised by Dr. Hannah Wittman. Her research focuses on agroecology, climate change, food security, land reform, and political ecology, with a regional emphasis on Latin America and Brazil. She currently leads a postdoctoral project collaborating with seven peasant farming organizations to develop agroecological indicators.

Education: BS (Environmental Resource Management & Community Development) from Penn State University (2013), MPhil (Geography) from Newcastle University (2014, supported by a Fulbright Award), and PhD (2022) from UBC. Professional experience includes USAID-funded agricultural assessments, policy advising for the Feed the Future initiative, and NSF-funded research on climate impacts in Spain.

Research Interests: Dana examines the intersection of agroecology with social movements, governance, and equity. Her work emphasizes participatory approaches, food sovereignty, and the science-policy interface. Key themes include gender equity in farming, agroecological transitions, and climate resilience in rural communities.

Notable Awards: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, UBC Public Scholar Fellowship, and P.E.O. International Scholarship. Her work is supported by Mitacs, SSHRC, and the Liu Institute.

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with UBC’s IRES and Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. Engaged with global networks including La Vía Campesina and the Agroecology Research-Action Collective.