Biography
Tania Eulalia Martinez-Cruz is a water management specialist and postdoctoral researcher at University of Greenwich, UK working on nutrition, gender and indigenous food systems in the Peruvian Amazon. She is an Ayuujk (Mixe) indigenous woman who was born in 1987 in Oaxaca, Mexico. She received her B.Sc. in Irrigation Engineering from Chapingo Autonomous University (2009), a MSc. in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from the University of Arizona (2012) and a PhD in social sciences from Wageningen University (2020). Early in her career, she worked in sanitary engineering, water management, biofuels production, ICT4D, irrigation technology transfer and agricultural extension in Mexico. Since 2006, she has worked in international development, collaborating with institutions like the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, Value for Women and the Global Landscapes Forum for different projects worldwide. Her research topics cover politics of knowledge and research in technology-driven interventions, gender and social inclusion/exclusion, climate action, nutrition and traditional food systems. She is also a social activist promoting the conservation of native seeds and indigenous knowledge as key to the biocultural diversity of indigenous peoples and to tackle global challenges. She spoke about these issues at the Global Landscapes Forum “Restore the Earth” held at the United Nations Headquarters, NY, Bonn 2019 and 2020; the 1st High-Level Expert Seminar on Indigenous Food Systems at the FAO in Rome in 2018, among others. She also does advocacy work on the right to education for minority groups and women in STEM. On January 1st, 2020 she also received her ‘baston de mando’ (a symbolic wooden cane used to confer authority in some indigenous communities) to fulfil a year of community service as the Secretary of the Women’s Office in her hometown of Tamazulapam del Espiritu Santo. During her one-year term, she will be supporting the Women’s Office in issues related to the welfare of women in her community.
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tania_Martinez-Cruz
Website: https://taniamartinez.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tania_eulalia