About the members

Dr Ana Laura Zavala Guillen is a critical historical geographer researching in and with Afro-descendant communities about their geographies of resistance in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ESRC and the British Academy have sponsored her research. Furthermore, in 2020, she co-founded the Network of Women Doing Fieldwork (NWDF) and later the art and geography collective, Feeling the Field. In these spaces, she guided discussions about embodiment, emotions, childcare, and gender-based violence in the field. The NWDF has also been a space for her to mentor early-career researchers due to her extensive fieldwork experience in Europe, North Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Besides, she has extensive experience as a human rights lawyer and an expert in transitional justice. About formal education, Ana Laura holds a doctorate in human geography from the University of Sheffield funded by the University Prize Scholarship, a MA in Conflict Resolution from Bradford University sponsored by the Rotary Peace Fellowship, a MA in Fundamental Rights from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid funded by the Fundación Carolina, and Bachelor of Laws from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata from her home country, Argentina.

Dr Micaela G. Signorelli (she/her) is a Chilean-Italian performance maker and researcher based in London. She is part of the Network of Women doing Fieldwork, and the STAGES theatre and education research project with People's Palace Projects. Signorelli is passionate about researching the manifold applications of theatrical techniques education and psychology, interrogating and how art facilitates difficult, but important conversations. Her PhD research at Queen Mary University of London analysed the role of performance art in political protests in contemporary Chile.  

Pietra Cepero Rua Perez is a Brazilian human geographer and ethnographer who has conducted extensive research in the Brazilian Amazon since 2011. She is currently pursuing her PhD at Durham University's Department of Geography, with a focus on social contested large-scale mining project in the Amazon. As a member of the Network of Women Doing Fieldwork, she is committed to addressing 4 gender violence and advocating for a safe and supportive environment for researchers. Her work as an ethnographer focuses on developing strong links with local people and academics, delving into onto-epistemological concerns, encouraging knowledge co-production, and engaging in militant research. She also actively participates in social movements in the Brazilian Amazon.

Joyce Treasure (b. 1965 Birmingham, UK) lives in London. She graduated with a BA Hons, first class degree, in Black Studies from Birmingham City University in 2020. Her work explores ancestral memory, mythology, and ritual; examining how changing climates and colonial legacies exert on bodies, places, and well-being. Embracing a variety of mediums including collage, sculpture, painting, performance and speculative writing, she navigates the intersection of politics, care, and satire, transforming assemblages of objects and images into allegories of lived experiences. Drawing inspiration from found objects, she embraces a free-form approach, translating psychological landscapes into surreal material and immaterial features. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including Tate, Liverpool and Selfridges, Birmingham. Acquisitions of work include Bruntwood, Birmingham and Winchester University, and in 2019 she was awarded an art residency with Grand Union. In addition to being an awardee of the Womxn of Colour Art Award, 2022, from 198 Contemporary Arts Gallery, she facilitates workshops working one-on-one and with groups and was the recipient of an Arts Council, research and development fund in 2022.

Dr Itzel San Roman Pineda is a Mexican critical geographer with over 18 years of research expertise in tourism for development (T4D). Her research focuses on grassroots movements led by Indigenous peoples and rural communities in the Global South, addressing social, economic, gender, ethnic, educational, and environmental inequalities. She holds a PhD from the University of Sheffield, and her doctoral work contributed to scholarship on sustainable development, and tourism political economy, by providing a novel grassroots perspective on T4D. She is FASTA Development Manager in the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) at the University of Leeds. Her work involves community engagement activities regarding the application of weather forecasting technologies to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Africa. Itzel’s commitment to addressing gender-based violence was reinforced by her experiences of harassment during fieldwork, leading her to co-found the Network of Women Doing Fieldwork. This initiative highlights her dedication to eradicating genderbased violence and advocating for safe, free, and respectful academic environments for women and those who identify as women in academia.

Dr Vevila Dornelles is a Brazilian geographer with a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Reading. Her scholarly research addresses the dynamics of social exclusion, inclusion, and agency, 5 with special focus on gendered relations, and their role in the production of digital spaces and spaces of the digital. She has over 10 years of diverse professional experience in consulting, private, academic, and third sectors. Proficient in employing qualitative research methods from a critical standpoint, Vevila joined the Network of Women Doing Fieldwork as part of her commitment towards a fairer academic culture for women and other gender and sexuality minorities, especially those working on online research. Vevila is currently a Researcher at doebem Doações Efetivas, a thirdsector metaorganisation acting towards effective social transformation in Brazil.

Dr Ariana Markowitz (she/her) is a social urbanist and feminist researcher specialising in urban violence, the development of participatory and especially arts-based methodologies, and research ethics. Now at the London Borough of Lambeth, she has nearly two decades of cross-sector experience working to better understand and prevent violence and precarity in 15 countries across North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. She holds a PhD in development planning and an MSc in urban design both from UCL, and a BA in Political Science and Middle East Studies from McGill University. Ariana has helped guide the Network of Women Doing Fieldwork since 2020.

Zubaida Umar Baba (PhD) is a multidisciplinary researcher specialising in Political Science, Sociology, Development studies and Environment, with a specific focus on migration and displacement. Her research centres on understanding the challenges faced by internally displaced people in Northern Nigeria, exploring the social, political and environmental factors contributing to displacement and seeking sustainable solutions. Currently affiliated with the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, Zubaida’s expertise lies in illuminating the complex intersections of migration, displacement and development. She is a research affiliate of the Refugee Law Initiative in London and a member of Professionals In Humanitarian Assistance and Protection. Zubaida is also an active member of the Feeling the Field Network in the UK, where she collaborates with fellow female researchers to share fieldwork experiences through workshops, conferences, and articles. In addition to her academic pursuits, Zubaida serves as a cultural Diversity Worker at the New Wortley Community Centre in Leeds, where she works closely with refugee women, fostering community engagement and empowerment.