The women and Gender in International Development (WGD) Discussion Series is organized by the Center for International Research, Education and Development (CIRED) at Virginia Tech.
The series offers an opportunity for scholars and development practitioners to share their research and knowledge surrounding gender and international development with the Virginia Tech community and beyond.
Contact womengenderdev@gmail.com to be added to their listserv and receive information on upcoming events.
September 16, 2021
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Elisa Cárdenas
Research Specialist
University of Missouri in the Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3zHQyH5
“GENDER AND DECISION-MAKING: QUINOA PRODUCTION AMONG INDIGENOUS WOMEN IN RURAL ECUADOR”
Bio: Elisa Cárdenas graduated from Iowa State University with a PhD in Sustainable Agriculture and Sociology and with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems. She works at the University of Missouri in the Center for Applied and Engagement Systems (CARES) as a Research Specialist. Her research focuses on international development mostly related to women’s empowerment, gender inequality, Indigenous marginalization, and intersectionality.
October 21st 2021 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Dr. Kathy Colverson Associate Research Scientist
University of Florida’s Animal Science Department and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
“Engaging men in supporting maternal and child consumption of milk and other animal source foods in Rwanda”
Bio: Dr. Kathy Colverson is an Associate Research Scientist with the University of Florida’s Animal Science Department and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). Dr. Colverson also serves as Senior Gender Specialist for the USAID-funded Feed the Future Livestock Innovation Lab and has over 30 years of experience with gender analysis, assessments, publications and evaluations in east Africa, Central America, Caribbean, Middle East, Southeast Asia and the United States. In addition, she has over 25 years of experience working with small and limited resource farmers and communities to create sustainable practices in production, marketing, food safety and gender equitable project planning with an emphasis on livestock production and value chain development. Currently, Colverson is also a CO-PI on an ongoing DFID-IDRC funded agricultural research for development program – “Advancing women’s participation in livestock vaccine value chains in Nepal, Senegal and Uganda” and previously was a CO-PI on the USAID-funded Integrating Gender and Nutrition into Agricultural Extension Systems (INGENAES). Prior to her current role at the University of Florida, Dr. Colverson was a Senior Social Scientist for the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) where she led research on livelihoods, gender, impact and innovation systems.
November 18, 2021 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Mary Rodriguez
associate professor of community leadership and development
The Ohio State University
“Women, water, and transformative gender research”
Bio: Mary Rodriguez is an associate professor of community leadership and development at The Ohio State University. As a leadership scholar and practitioner, she focuses on supporting communities in change processes at the individual, household, and community levels. She strives to develop research-based solutions to build more sustainable and resilient communities through the exploration of behavior change and leadership development. In the US, through community engaged scholarship, she has worked with New American populations investigating the social system’s impact on access to resources. She has also worked internationally in Latin America, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East investigating adoption of innovations, household food security and resilience, and governance of water systems.