Liza Grandia

Dr. Liza Grandia is a Professor and Chair of Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis. She is a scholar-activist with over three decades of engagement in environmental and social justice movements in the Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize. Fluent in Q’eqchi’, she has pioneered integrated health programs like Remedios and co-founded ProPeten, a leading environmental nonprofit. Her work bridges academia and activism, focusing on Indigenous sovereignty, food systems, and resistance to corporate exploitation. A cancer survivor, she shifted her research to environmental health, winning a Mellon Fellowship to study toxicology and epidemiology. She advises grassroots Maya organizations, chairs the Q’eqchi’ Scholars Network, and advocates against land privatization and GM corn through legal and policy campaigns. Her recent book Kernels of Resistance chronicles Indigenous victories against agribusiness giants like Monsanto. She teaches courses on globalization’s impact on Indigenous communities and collaborates with NGOs like REDSAG and ACDIP to promote agroecology and territorial defense.

Education and early career details are not explicitly detailed, but her professional trajectory reflects deep fieldwork and advocacy. Her research interests emphasize colonial legacies, corporate power, and biodiversity conservation. Grants include Mellon funding for mid-career research, and her awards highlight civic recognition for environmental justice work. She mentors students through UC Davis and supports Indigenous-led initiatives financially and academically.