Katie McQuaid

Katie McQuaid is an Associate Professor of Gender and Climate at the School of Geography, University of Leeds. An anthropologist with expertise in climate change, gender and sexuality, ageing, and human rights in informal urban settings, her work creatively combines social science and applied arts methodologies to address social justice challenges in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. She currently holds a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2019-2026) for her project 'Gender, Generation and Climate Change (GENERATE)' and has led interdisciplinary initiatives in Indonesia and Uganda since 2014.

• Education: MA in Anthropology of Conflict, Violence and Conciliation (University of Sussex, 2008), MSc in Cross-Cultural and Comparative Research Methods (University of Sussex, 2010), PhD in Social Anthropology (University of Sussex, 2014)

Her research focuses on the intersection of climate change, gender, sexuality, and age in informal urban settings. Current projects include co-designing diffability-inclusive disaster preparedness tools in Indonesia, visual storytelling collaborations in Uganda, and developing researcher wellbeing frameworks. She prioritizes partnerships with marginalized communities, civil society, governments, and artists to build inclusive climate resilience.

Notable initiatives include the GENERATE project (2019-2026), Kayuh Baimbai toolkit (2023-), and the 'See Change: Visualising the Urban Climate Crisis' book (2022-23). Her work emphasizes storytelling through arts, media, and vernaculars to elevate marginalized voices in policymaking.

• Scientific awards: UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, AHRC grants, ESRC Impact Accelerator Award

Katie supervises postgraduate researchers and collaborates across disciplines, including partnerships with the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures. She actively works to transform urban climate policymaking through creative, community-led approaches.