Department of Environment and Development

André Nijhof (1969) has a masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Twente. He started his working life as a researcher of organisational change in multinational companies like Akzo Nobel, Asito, Shell Pernis, Stegeman Sara Lee and Vredestein. Based on his research he finished his PhD at the University of Twente just before the turn of the century (1999). Next he became a senior consultant at Q-Consult, where he specialized in corporate social responsibility and the implementation of management systems. Andre is former chairman of the Dutch Network on Business Ethics. Since 2007 he has been associate professor at the European Institute for Business Ethics, part of Nyenrode Business Universiteit.

Dr. Cordula Reimann has worked for twenty years as consultant, facilitator, trainer, researcher and lecturer on gender, social change, development and conflict transformation. As practitioner–scholar, Cordula has worked for international and Swiss governmental and non-governmental organisations like Crisis Management Initiative, amnesty international, the Institute for Multi-track Diplomacy in Washington, DC, GIZ and the Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management in Berlin and for nearly ten years at the Swiss peace foundation swisspeace, where she was head of analysis and impact of peacebuilding. Cordula has field experiences mainly in South Asia and the Middle East. With a doctorate in “Peace Studies” on gender, conflict and peacebuilding from the University of Bradford, Cordula has been senior lecturer at different European and Swiss universities and visiting professor at the University of Graz, Austria and the University for Peace, Costa Rica. Her main areas of expertise are gender, conflict sensitivity, development, conflict analysis, transgenerational trauma, loneliness and conflict transformation. Cordula is a trained mediator and has widely published on gender, conflict and conflict transformation theory and practice. In 2011, Cordula set up her own consultancy business called “core. consultancy & training in conflict transformation” (www.corechange.ch) and later her coaching business called “core change coaching” (www.corechange-coaching.ch).

1.      Dr. Corinne Schuster-Wallace has broad experience at the water-health nexus including linkages with gender, climate change, and sustainable development. She is a water-health researcher within Global Water Futures program, member of the Global Institute for Water Security and Centre for Hydrology, and faculty member in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Saskatchewan. She currently holds adjunct faculty status at McMaster University, Queen’s University, and the University of Waterloo in Canada. Previous positions include Senior Research Fellow (water-health) in the Water and Human Development Programme at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Research Associate in the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph (Canada), and a water-environment specialist for the Public Health Agency of Canada. In addition to publications across many different media, Corinne consulted to the Provincial Commission of Inquiry (Part II) into the Walkerton, Ontario (Canada) drinking water tragedy of 2000

 

1.      Frances Roberts-Gregory is an ecowomanist ethnographer and feminist political ecologist. She is a co-founding member of the Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal, former environmental educator for the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, and former resource developer for the New Orleans and C40 Women4Climate Mentorship Program. From 2018-2019, Frances taught courses on gender, environmental racism, digital activism, and climate justice at Tulane University and Bard Early College New Orleans. In 2020, Frances began a new position as a Future Faculty Fellow at Northeastern University. Reach her via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @BlackngreenPhD. 

 

Jan Breitling is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environment and Development at University for Peace. He holds a BSc. in Tropical Forestry, from the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, and a MSc. in Environmental Sciences from WUR Wageningen University and Research Center, The Netherlands. His research interests include root causes of deforestation and Global Environmental Change, and Environmental Governance, specifically market based approaches addressing biodiversity conservation and Climate Change.

Kifah Sasa is Sustainable Development Program Officer for the United Nations Development Programme in Costa Rica. Since 2009 he works as senior advisor for the Green Commodities Programme, advising governments and supply chain stakeholders on how to improve the environmental and social performance of commodity supply chains. Kifah has worked for social development and the environment for 17 years in different roles. From setting up and leading NGOs to support community organizations on a voluntary basis; to advising Central American Ministers of Social Integration, Housing and Health on the management of regional projects, as part of the Central American Integration System. For the past decade he has worked for the United Nations Development Programme, managing projects related to biodiversity conservation, marine protected areas, environmental economics; sustainable production of agricultural commodities and democratic dialogue. For the last 5 years he is responsible for UNDPs Sustainable Development portfolio in Costa Rica. He was trained in the United Kingdom (Middlesex, B.A, MA) and The Netherlands (ISS, Post Dip), Costa Rica.

M.Sc. in International Economics Studies from the Maastricht University, The Netherlands, and a Master’s degree in Development Studies with a specialization in Economics of Development from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague. From 2012 he is a Ph.D. candidate at the ISS.

He has experience in the study of trade and its social and economic impact in developing countries, specifically in Southern Africa and in Central America. He has also worked on rural development issues in transition countries, notably in the Caucasus and Central Asia. He holds experience in urban development studies, particularly focusing on informal settlement development, and labour market studies, specifically paid domestic work.

Currently, in his position as a researcher at the Institute of Social Research of the University of Costa Rica, he is specializing in the study of welfare regimes, gender, labour markets and the formation and impact of social and economic policies on the one hand, and trade on the other. Also, he is a lecturer at the School of Communication at the University of Costa Rica.

Marco Quesada is currently the country-program Director of Conservation International’s Costa Rica Program. He has an undergraduate (B.Sc., 1996) and a masters (M.Sc., 2001) degree in biology from Universidad de Costa Rica and a Ph.D. from the Department of Marine Affairs of the University of Rhode Island. While his M.Sc. thesis was done on the subject of marine zooplankton ecology, his Ph.D. dissertation was developed on the subject of community participation in fisheries management. Marco has participated in scholar exchanges in Portland State University (US) and the University of La Rochelle (Fra), and has been a professor at U. Peace, Universidad de Costa Rica and conducted research in Costa Rica and Alaska, U.S. He is a member of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Stakeholder Council, the Blue Carbon Scientific Working Group, acts as a national delegate to the InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission and is part of Costa Rica’s Commission against illegal fishing, as well as several other public and private advisory bodies.

Marjolein Baghuis is a driven sustainability professional with a diverse international background. After an extensive career in both corporate and NGO leadership positions, in 2013, she became a sustainability consultant. She now consults companies, NGOs and various Dutch Ministries on sustainable business practices. She supports these organizations with strategic advice, reporting services and multi-stakeholder process management. Next to her work as a consultant, Marjolein serves on various (supervisory) boards and teaches sustainability-related topics to different audiences, ranging from students at UPEACE and Nyenrode Business University to supervisory board members.

Mohit is an innovator in the area of organizational development, focusing on developing and delivering programs on leadership, innovation, organizational well-being and social impact. He is the founding Director of the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education. In this role, he has developed and taught over 75 seminars in several countries (Haiti, USA, Switzerland, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Puerto Rico, India, Bangladesh, Costa Rica and the U.K) on themes ranging from ‘Designing Your Life’ to ‘Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Social Change’. While providing leadership to the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education, Mohit has also taken on consulting engagements with Florida International University and Watson Institute, an incubator for social entrepreneurs. Prior to this, Mohit served as Education Program Manager of the Earth Charter Initiative, an international nonprofit organization. He also spent four years at A.T. Kearney management consultants in San Francisco. Mohit has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, and did his Master’s at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Former Coordinator of the RMSED Programme at the University for Peace, Costa Rica from 2009 to July 2011. She Owns a Msc in Post-war reconstruction, graduated with distinction in 1999, University of York (UK). Bsc in Economics, graduated Cum Laude, 1992, University La Sapienza of Rome (Italy). Technical Diploma in accounting and foreign Languages, graduated in 1986, (Italy).

She has been working since 18 years in developing countries and war-torn societies in Africa (Uganda and Egypt), Asia (Indonesia), Middle East (Jordan, WBG, Lebanon, Yemen), Central America (Guatemala, Costa Rica) and the Balkans (BiH, Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia) heading and managing emergency, rehabilitation and development projects for the European Commission (several years), SNV-Dutch Cooperation (1999-2001), CARE Nederland (2001-2008), MOVIMONDO (Consortium of Italian NGOs- 1995-1998).  She was also research fellow of the Institute of Nutrition for Central America and Panama (INCAP); University of York (UK) for research projects in Indonesia/Aceh and Lebanon/Beiruth; and of the University of Rome.  

Olivia Sylvester, Ph.D., is the Head of the Environment, Development and Peace Department, and assistant professor at the University for Peace. She is also an adjunct professor for Long Island University and teaches in their Global Studies programme. In the last decade, Olivia’s research program has focused on food security, sustainable agriculture, climate change, environmental justice, and gender. Specifically, she works with Indigenous people, women, small-scale farmers, and youth on these topics. Her research is driven by social and environmental justice and she uses relevant methodologies (e.g., Indigenous, feminist) to achieve these goals. Olivia is also member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the International Society of Ethnobiology, and the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage Project. Being active within these networks allows her to work at the interface of policy and practice.