Biography
Head and Assistant Professor, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies
Dr. Adriana Salcedo is a scholar-practitioner in the field of conflict transformation and peacebuilding with a focus on conflict, gender, identity and migration. She holds a Doctorate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from the George Mason University School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR), in Virginia, United States. For this degree, she conducted extensive research on forced migration, conflict and the social integration of refugees in the Colombian-Ecuadorian borderlands and in inner cities in Ecuador. She is deeply committed to achieving positive social change through non-violent means and to strengthening social actors including grass-roots organizations, indigenous communities and minority groups through her research and practice.
Adriana has taught courses at the Simón Bolívar Andean University in Quito, Ecuador, at George Mason University in Washington D.C. and at Boston University in conflict analysis, collaborative methodologies for building peace, mediation, gender and migration. She was a visiting professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University for Peace (Costa Rica) for three consecutive years (2017-2019) before joining UPEACE as a resident faculty member.
As a practitioner, Adriana has provided training for the Northern Virginia Mediation Center (as a Certified Instructor/Mediator) and for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as for the Canadian Embassy in the Dominican Republic and the Observatory of Migration in the Caribbean (OBMICA). With more than fifteen years of experience in analyzing and transforming social conflicts, her professional practice has covered the Amazon basin, the Galapagos Islands and the Andean region (Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia), the United States, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. She has conducted research and collaborated with various public, private and civil society institutions across the Americas and the Caribbean.
Biografía
Directora y Profesora Asistente, Departamento de Estudios de Paz y Conflicto
La Dra. Adriana Salcedo es una profesional que combina la teoría y práctica en el campo de la transformación de conflictos y la construcción de la paz con un enfoque en conflictos, género, identidades y migración. Obtuvo su Doctorado en Análisis y Resolución de Conflictos de la Escuela de Análisis y Resolución de Conflictos (S-CAR) de la Universidad George Mason, en Virginia, Estados Unidos. Para esto, realizó una extensa investigación sobre la migración forzada, los conflictos y la integración social de refugiados/as en las tierras fronterizas colombo-ecuatorianas y en las ciudades del interior de Ecuador. Está profundamente comprometida a lograr un cambio social positivo a través de medios no violentos y a fortalecer a los actores sociales a través de su investigación y práctica (principalmente organizaciones de base, las comunidades indígenas y los grupos minoritarios).
Adriana ha impartido cursos en la Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar en Quito, Ecuador, en la Universidad George Mason en Washington D.C. y en la Universidad de Boston en análisis de conflictos, metodologías colaborativas para construcción de la paz, mediación, género y migración. Fue profesora visitante en el Departamento de Estudios de Paz y Conflictos de la Universidad para la Paz (Costa Rica) durante tres años consecutivos (2017-2019) antes de unirse a UPEACE como profesor residente.
En su práctica profesional, Adriana ha brindado capacitación para el Centro de Mediación del Norte de Virginia (como Instructora / Mediadora Certificada) y para el Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia (UNICEF), así como para la Embajada de Canadá en la República Dominicana y el Centro para la Observación Migratoria y el Desarrollo Social del Caribe (OBMICA). Con más de quince años de experiencia en el análisis y transformación de conflictos sociales, su práctica profesional ha cubierto la cuenca del Amazonas, las Islas Galápagos y la región andina (Ecuador, Colombia y Bolivia), los Estados Unidos, la República Dominicana y Haití. Ha realizado varias investigaciones y colaborado con varias instituciones públicas, privadas y de la sociedad civil en la región de las Américas y del Caribe.
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.
Abogado por la Universidad Autónoma de Centro America, Master en Derechos Humanos UNAD. Unidad Técnica de Genero. Poder Judicial, Costa Rica. Consultora para USAID, ILANUD y otras organizaciones internacionales.
Dr. Mariateresa Garrido (Venezuela) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Law at UPEACE and the Doctoral Committee Coordinator. She is an international lawyer and holds a Doctorate from UPEACE. Her main research area is related to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and the protection of journalists in Latin America; but she is also researching on the interaction between human rights and Information and Communication Technologies. She uses mixed methodologies and legal research to explore linkages between the law, journalism and new technologies. She also holds two Master’s Degrees; one from UPEACE in International Law and the Settlement of the Disputes and one from the Central University of Venezuela in Public International Law.
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.
