Lisa Kelley

Lisa Kelley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver, where she applies theories and methods from critical physical geography, political ecology, and remote sensing to study land and livelihood transformations. Her work focuses on agrarian and forest change in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, with newer projects examining climate-related land-labor dynamics in Hawaiʻi and Indonesia.

Education:

• PhD, Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley (2017)
• BA, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University (2008, with the Leslie Kilham Johnson Prize for Research Excellence)

Research Interests: Kelley's research bridges political ecology, climate change, and agrarian studies. She investigates commodity expansion, forest conflict, state territorialization, and climate-livelihood interactions in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Scientific Awards:

• Leslie Kilham Johnson Prize for Research Excellence (Princeton University, 2008)

Grants & Collaborations: Her work is funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Fulbright Program, and Office of Naval Research. She previously served as Environment-Society editor for Geography Compass and volunteers with Pandemic Research for the People and the Prison University Project.