Karen Wong Pérez

Senior researcher (strengthening partnerships team), Climate Change research group

Karen’s work focuses on justice dimensions of climate change. She works on a variety of issues related to climate, gender, and environmental justice, including citizen engagement processes for socially-just climate action, site-level assessments for equity and governance, and equitable multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Karen works with grassroots networks and collaborative initiatives to understand factors that enable the meaningful citizen engagement processes for locally led climate action and whole-of-society responses to climate change.

Her research interests span disciplinary boundaries and encompass climate, gender, and environmental justice, environmental and risk governance, enablers of grassroots collective action, social learning, and enablers of equitable multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Expertise

Citizen engagement, equity and governance; environmental justice; partnerships, capacity building and collaborative mechanisms; MPA management effectiveness; planning, monitoring and evaluation; integration of environmental considerations into metrics of poverty, human well-being; social justice; gender and intersectional analysis.

Before IIED

International consultant, Joint Environment Unit (JEU) of the UN Environment and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), (2014 and 2017).
International consultant, Tarahumara Foundation (NGO working in collaborative initiatives with Indigenous communities of the Sierra Tarahumara, México) (2015)
International consultant, Pacífico (Environmental Funds Platform of the Tropical Eastern Central Pacific, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Panamá) (2014)
Programme manager, Knowledge Management and Mexico Mosaics Initiative, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Mexico and North Central America (2012-13)
Partnerships and capacity building specialist, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Mexico and North Central America (2005 – 2012)

Education

PhD in Geography, University of Cambridge, Churchill College, UK (2015-19)
MPhil in Conservation Leadership, University of Cambridge, Churchill College, UK (2013-2014)
MSc in Environmental Systems and Natural Resources Management, Monterrey Tech Institute, Mexico (2004 - 2005)
BSc in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Monterrey Tech Institute, Mexico (1998-2002)

Current work

Exploring citizen engagement processes for socially-just climate action, co-designing a collaborative initiative to enable increased access to climate finance for grassroots organisations, examining enablers of equitable multi-stakeholder partnerships, and implementing site-level equity and governance assessments in Latin America.