Jessica Dempsey is a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia , affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Biodiversity Research Centre . Her work intersects environmental politics , political ecology , and feminist political economy , focusing on biodiversity loss, capitalist logics, and conservation finance. PhD, University of British Columbia (2011) MA, University of British Columbia BSc, University of Victoria Research explores how neoliberal environmentalism , resource extraction , and international financial systems perpetuate biodiversity loss. Key themes include debt justice , gendered mining impacts , and temporal policy fixes . Supervision emphasizes community-building through regular lab meetings and interdisciplinary critique. Recent publications analyze conservation finance , extinction drivers , and policy contradictions in Antipode , Nature Ecology & Evolution , and Conservation Letters . She received the 2025 Dean of Arts Mentorship Award for her student-centered feedback style and collaborative approach.






