Caitlin Joseph

I am in the process of completing a PhD in Geography and Urban Studies at Temple University, where I also received my MA in 2021. Prior to Temple, I earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Hiram College. 

My previous academic and professional work dealt broadly with the environmental justice implications of municipal sustainability projects in the post-industrial Great Lakes Basin. I served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in Akron Ohio between 2016-2019 during the community consensus process of a proposed green stormwater infrastructure plan. Since then, I have deepened my thinking of socio-environmental themes through writing on topics such as the political ecology of water, radical placemaking, and disability-responsive climate adaptation. 

My research interests are still evolving but are anchored in the complex dynamics of Great Lakes water governance. I hope to interrogate and contextualize contemporary efforts toward watershed restoration within historic and geographic processes of enclosure and resistance. My non-academic interests include sketching, board games, SCUBA diving, and wandering through the woods.

Robi Uddin

I am currently enrolled in the PhD program in Geography and Urban Studies at Temple University, where my research examines the problems and prospects of development interventions through the geographic lens of sustainability, equity, and climate justice. It delves into how narratives of climate change are constructed and how they reflect the lived realities of Bangladeshi communities, aiming to foster resilience and promote sustainable development. 

I hold M.Phil., master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Before beginning my doctoral studies, I worked with NGOs and academic institutions on a wide array of issues. I have led and contributed to over three research projects focused on climate vulnerability, adaptation strategies, and the evaluation of development interventions. Most recently, I served as a Manager of Monitoring and Evaluation at BRAC. My work bridges research and practice—I investigate the root of the problem as a researcher and deal with practical solutions as a development and NGO worker.  

Social problems that cause people to suffer shape my research interest—I am particularly interested in the flow of climate finance and the structural dynamics that influence access, representation, and outcomes in adaptation governance. My non-academic interests include spending time in the remote, secluded Jhum hills, playing cricket, football, and board games, as well as farming.

Allan Mathew Alex

I am a disaster management graduate specializing in the field of disasters and development that focuses on disasters as development-induced events. I have engaged in a variety of projects focusing on disaster and trauma recovery, disaster justice and disaster risk in urban development. My areas of interest include decolonization, climate justice, development and disaster management. I am currently interested in investigating issues emerging in the Global South and specifically, looking at resilience and adaptation discourses and movements and, their impact on communities living in the Global South.