Dena Aufseeser

Dr. Dena Aufseeser is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington (2012). Her work focuses on critical poverty studies, urban geography, and children’s rights within international development frameworks. She examines how children’s rights discourses intersect with neoliberal development strategies, particularly in Peru and Baltimore, MD.

Education:

• Ph.D., University of Washington, 2012

Research Interests:

• Critical analysis of children’s rights and poverty governance
• Urban revitalization and its impacts on marginalized youth
• Geographies of motherhood and care practices in poverty contexts
• Transnational migration and youth mobility

Her recent work explores how developmental changes in Baltimore affect immigrant and low-income youth, linking these dynamics to global patterns of inequality. Articles highlight themes like algorithmic governance in urban policy and decolonizing children’s geographies.

Awards:

• Mary Lily Research Grant (2020)
• IRC Summer Faculty Fellowship (2018)
• MIPAR Faculty Fellowship (2016)

Teaching & Engagement: Teaches courses like Urban Geography and Global Poverty. Her research integrates collaborative methodologies with youth and marginalized communities, emphasizing care ethics in fieldwork. She actively presents at conferences like the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting.

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with UMBC’s Geography department facilities, though no named lab is specified. Collaborates with international institutions on child rights and urban development projects.