Areli Valencia holds a Ph.D. in Law and Society from the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, Canada. She is currently the 2013 Gordon F. Henderson Postdoctoral Fellow at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa. Her main fields of study include human rights, environmental justice, critical legal studies, international development and postcolonial feminism. Her research focuses on the context of extractive activities and its strategic role in the current politics of economic development in Latin America, namely, in Peru and Ecuador. Dr. Valencia’s research employs participatory and collaborative research methods to connect the knowledge and experiences of non-academic actors (e.g. activists, grassroots organizations, community leaders and policy-makers) with the academic community in Canada, Latin America and beyond.
