top of page
Access_analysis_viz_edited.jpg

EDUCATION

January/Enero 2021 - September/Septiembre 2025 (expected defence date)

PHD GEOGRAPHY, MCGILL UNIVERSITY
DOCTORADO EN GEOGRAFÍA, UNIVERSIDAD MCGILL

September/Septiembre 2018 - December/Diciembre 2020

M.SC. IN GEOGRAPHY (THESIS), MCGILL UNIVERSITY
M.SC. EN GEOGRAFÍA (TESIS), UNIVERSIDAD MCGILL

September/Septiembre 2014 - December/Diciembre 2017

B.SC. BIOLOGY, BIOMED & LIFE SCIENCES - ECOLOGY FOCUS, HONOURS, FIRST CLASS
LICENCIADA EN CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS, CON ESPECIALIZACION EN ECOLOGIA Y HONORES EN CIENCIAS AMBIENTALES

RESEARCH FUNDING

May 2022 - April 2025

VANIER CANADA GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP - SSHRC

Offered to doctoral students who have demonstrated strong leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health.​

Vanier CGS 2022 Scholars

January 2021 - January 2025

FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC - NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT)

Doctoral research grant (B2X) 
$21,000 CAD/year (Terminated upon reception of Vanier Scholarship)

May 2020 - August 2020

FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC - NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT)

B1X Bourse de maîtrise en recherche - $21,000 CAD ($5,800 awarded in combination with SSHRC)

September 2018 - May 2020

SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA (SSHRC)

CGS M - $17500 CAD/year

May 2017 - August 2017

NATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA (NSERC) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD

NSERC Lake Pulse Network
$4500 CAD

May 2017 - August 2017

FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC - NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT) USRA SUPPLEMENT

NSERC Lake Pulse Network
$2000 CAD

Currently held

AWARDS

February 2024

ALEXANDRA IRWIN COWIE FELLOWSHIP

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University
Awarded to outstanding graduate students engaged in interdisciplinary environmental science research within the Faculty of Science and working under the supervision of a member of the Bieler School of Environment.

$6,000 CAD

May - October 2023

GRADUATE MOBILITY AWARD

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University
Fundings awarded for a fieldwork conducted in Northern Argentina.
$4,040 
CAD

2023

SSHRC MICHAEL SMITH FOREIGN STUDY SUPPLEMENT (CGS-MSFSS)

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Fundings awarded to support fieldwork.
$3,190 CAD

2023

RATHLYN FIELDWORK AWARD

Rathlyn Foundation, Internal - Department of Geography, McGill University

Fundings awarded to support fieldwork.
$8,000 CAD

October 2022

PROFESSOR EMERITUS BEN GARNIER FELLOWSHIP

To support outstanding PhD students in the Department of Geography whose thesis topic reflects the interests of Professor Garnier in the relationship between humans and the climate system and the physical environment.

$4,500 CAD

January - April 2022

GRADUATE MOBILITY AWARD

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University
Fundings awarded for a research stay with the Conservation Biogeography and the Earth Observation Labs at Humboldt University, Berlin.
$4,200 CAD

November 2020

WOLFE FELLOWSHIPS IN SCIENCE AND TECH LITERACY

For advancing understanding of key scientific and technological concepts and examining the relationships among science, technology, and a broad range of social, ethical, political, and economic issues, practices and conditions.
$6,000 CAD

EMPLOYMENT

VISITING RESEARCHER

June - August 2025

Visiting researcher hosted by the Conservation Biogeography Lab at Humboldt University, Berlin.

VISITING RESEARCHER

May - October 2023

Visiting researcher hosted by the Institute of Regional Ecology (IER) at Tucuman National University, Tucuman.

VISITING RESEARCHER

March - June 2022

Visiting researcher hosted by the Conservation Biogeography Lab at Humboldt University, Berlin.

GIS RESEARCH ASSISTANT
SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN HETEROGENEOUS LANDSCAPES – BUILDING A COMMON PLATFORM FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ACTION

July 2020 - December 2021

Project lead: Dr. Sandra Díaz

To access the baseline report on Harvard Dataverse, click here

MCGILL SUSTAINABILITY SYSTEMS INITIATIVE (MSSI)
LANDSCAPE SCHOLAR

September 2018 - July 2020

I was involved in the “Trade and Ecosystem Services” research project funded by the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative (MSSI). The project was led by myself and a team of seven other graduate students and ran over the course of two years (2018-2020). We had as a directive to tackle high level sustainability challenges that fall under the general research theme “Sustainable Landscapes for the Future”. The team met weekly, participated in MSSI conferences, sustainability lectures, and mentorship activities. From the collaboration, we developed a research methodology to track the flow of embodied ecosystem services in the global trade of food commodities.

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTS SUMMER ACADEMY (GESA) 2018

July 2018 - August 2018

Organized by the Global Environments Network (GEN), in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Center for Conservation Science (ICCS) and the Environmental Change Institute (ECI)

Oxford University, Oxford, U.K.

  • Participation in academically rigorous sessions on current environmental and social issues

  • Intensive professional development in techniques for evaluation, analysis and communication of scientific findings 

  • Engagements with civil society, international conservation authorities, and corporate actors.

REGIONAL PROGRAMS COORDINATOR, CANADA OFFICE MANAGER
QUEBEC LABRADOR FOUNDATION

January 2018 - July 2018

RESEARCH AND FIELD ASSISTANT
NSERC LAKE PULSE NETWORK

May 2017 - August 2017

Supervised by Lake Pulse Network lead, Prof. Yannick Huot, University of Sherbrooke (CAD)
Funding: National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award

  • Research assistant responsibilities related to the field campaign preparation included coordinating access to over 200 lakes in Quebec and Ontario

  • Field assistant responsibilities involved sampling over 60 lakes in two-and-a-half months, preparing and shipping the samples, and actively coordinating the sampling schedule and lodging for the team.

  • Specialized training to deploy an RBRmaestro³ Multi-Channel Logger

  • Active involvement in the development of the sampling protocol, which has now been used successfully over three sampling campaigns. 

RESEARCH AND FIELD ASSISTANT 

​METHANE (AND CO2) DYNAMICS IN NATURAL LAKES

May 2015 - August 2015

Supervised by Dr. Yves Prairie, UNESCO Chair in Global Environmental Change, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

  • Fieldwork involving gas and water sample collection and sample processing on site

  • Laboratory work included sample processing (primarily isotopic analysis) 

RESEARCH AND FIELD ASSISTANT
MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT ON THE ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE EASTERN CHIPMUNK

May 2013 - July 2013

Supervised by Dr. Denis Réale, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)     

  • Extensive field work involving capture, sample collection, and behavioural monitoring of Eastern Chipmunks

  • Training in the use of telemetry equipment and installment of radio-tracking collars

CONFERENCES / CONFERENCIAS

Global Land Program - 5th Open Science Meeting
Pathways to Sustainable and Just Land Systems

 November 2024

Oaxaca, Mexico​

​

Full presentation:  Beyond the deforestation front - Unveiling land control dynamics in emerging agricultural frontiers​

GBvMTNpX0AAd7i1.jpg
308555444_469373651885761_1850235822585222421_n.png

 May 2024

Cuartel de Ballajá & el Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

​Full presentation: Beyond the deforestation front - Unveiling land control dynamics in emerging agricultural frontiers​

 March 2023

Panel Discussant: Activism and ideological challenges in the field

​

Panel presentation: 

Navigating (conflicting) commitments: Becoming a scholar-activist​​

​

fieldchronicles.png

Coyunturas históricas de la (re)producción de la riqueza y acumulación de la tierra en América Latina: 1860-1930 y 1980-2020

 March 2023

Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla– Puebla, Mexico
Presentation title: El cultivo de la soja y las estrategias de control de la tierra en las fronteras agropecuarias del Gran Chaco

​

Alambrado: Midiendo las crecientes restricciones al acceso para pequeños productores en el Chaco argentino

​

Presenter in the session: "Land Uses in the Chaco: State of the Art and Future Prospects, from a Socio-Ecosystemic View"

reunion-argentino-de-ecologia-logo-opt (1).png

June 2019

Institute of Regional Ecology (IER) – Tucuman University
Presentation title: Fences, demarcations, and deforestation: Assessing changes in campesino resource access in the Tucuman-Santiago agricultural frontier 

AWARDS

Previously awarded

January 2021

RATHLYN GIS AWARD

Rathlyn Foundation, McGill University
$4,400 CAD

July 2020 - August 2020

GRADUATE MOBILITY AWARD

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University
$2900, Assigned but not completed due to COVID-19 travel restrictions

2019

RATHLYN FIELDWORK AWARD

Internal, Department of Geography, McGill University

Funding received to conduct fieldwork.
$5,500 CAD

2019

THEO HILLS AWARD

Internal, Department of Geography
McGill University
$530 CAD

September 2018 - June 2020

LAND SYSTEMS SCHOLAR

McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative (MSSI)
$10,000 CAD

Exchange semester - 2016

DISTINCTION – UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

Academic distinction - Biology

Exchange semester - 2016

TRAVEL EXPERIENCE AWARD

McGill University

​$1,500 CAD

2012 - 2014

HONOUR ROLL

Dawson College, Health Sciences

2012

THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S ACADEMIC BRONZE MEDAL

Highest cumulative average upon graduation from secondary education

MCGILL UNIVERSITY SCIENCE ENTRANCE AWARD

Awarded to a promising student to encourage enrollment in higher education in the sciences
$300 CAD

THE WILLIAM MURRAY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN WRITING

English Montreal School Board (EMSB)

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

CO-PRESIDENT
GEOGRAPHY GRADUATE SOCIETY (GGS), MCGILL UNIVERSITY

May 2020 - May 2022

Mandate: To represent the interests of the members of the GGS , both at the department and faculty level. This includes, but is not limited to:
1.    Improving the financial situation of graduate students within the department
2.    Starting a conversation with the department about the courses offered for grad students, as well as the structure of the graduate program (including active involvement of the GGS in the “revamping” of GEOG631)
3.    Providing mental health support for graduate students. This involves advocating not only for increased graduate mental health support (for example, through the availability of graduate advisors and peer-support groups), but also for the conscientization of supervisors towards their responsibility in graduate student mental health. 
4.    Furthering a sense of community and peer solidarity within the department (by requesting funding from the department and from PGSS for graduate events and maintaining (and enhancing) forms of networking and liaison between students) 
5.    Working with the department and the Faculty of Science to implement measures to increase the sustainability of research practices. This could include mitigation measures by the department or the faculty for research-related travel (i.e. a departmental budget for the purchasing of carbon offsets for air travel), advocating for PhD defense committees to be held online when possible (to avoid unnecessary travel), and supporting the divestment from fossil fuels.   
6.    Increasing the communication between the GGS and the department (through participation of the executive in departmental assemblies and meetings), and in turn communicating the information gained as transparently as possible to the GGS members at large.
​

CHAIR, MENTAL HEALTH COMMITTEE

September 2019 - September 2020

I coordinated workshops involving graduate students of the department of Geography at McGill University to discuss how to 1) make mental health resources more available to the graduate student body and 2) foster a supportive graduate culture within the department of Geography. From these workshops, the Mental Health Committee of the Geography Graduate Society was formed and institutionalized.
I acted as chair of the committee between 2019 and 2020.

VICE PRESIDENT OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS 
GEOGRAPHY GRADUATE SOCIETY (GGS), MCGILL UNIVERSITY

September 2019 - April 2020

As VP Social, I coordinated events for the graduate student body of the Geography department. Events include writing retreats, student-faculty mixers, a field work photography exhibit, weekly coffee hours, and holiday parties.

LOGISTICS COORDINATOR
MCGILL SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM (SSR)

September 2018 - January 2019

The SSR is a student-led conference that facilitates connections among students, faculty, and the wider community by providing a venue to engage in the discussion of sustainability research at McGill University. For the 2019 SSR, I was responsible for coordinating the conference logistics, which included: venue and catering booking, conference scheduling, and coordination of the poster session. The event was attended by 340 people.

SUSTAINABILITY REPRESENTATIVE
GEOGRAPHY GRADUATE SOCIETY, MCGILL UNIVERSITY

September 2018 - September 2019

I acted as an associate elected member of the GGS to promote sustainable practices within the Department of Geography and McGill.

UNDERGRADUATE SUSTAINABILITY REPRESENTATIVE 
MCGILL UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY GREEN COMMITTEE

September 2014 - August 2015

I acted as undergraduate representative on the Biology departmental green committee, which aims to promote sustainable practices in the  department at large.

VICE PRESIDENT OF SUSTAINABILITY
​MBSU (MCGILL BIOLOGY STUDENT UNION)

September 2014 - August 2015

During my appointment as Vice President of Sustainability, I wrote and coordinated the implementation of a sustainability mandate into the McGill Biology Student Union's (MBSU) constitution. This project aimed at creating a long-lasting effect on the activities and functioning of the MBSU by providing a platform for sustainability that could be maintained and worked on irrespective of the short term rotation of its members.

PRESS SECRETARY AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR 
CAMPUS POTAGER

May 2015 - June 2016

Urban Gardening Initiative, Concordia Food Coalition (CFC) - Concordia University

GREEN EARTH CLUB PRESS SECRETARY

September 2012 - March 2014

Environmental student organization, Dawson College

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

©2020 by Olivia del Giorgio.

bottom of page