On July 2, 2021 Sylvia passed her dissertation defense and shortly after filed her PhD dissertation, titled "Rethinking Global Climate Politics: Integral Territorial Ontologies, Ancestral Knowledges, and the Defense of Life in Amazonian Indigenous Climate Initiatives”. Drawing on indigenous and other research methods, Sylvia’s thesis examines the ways in which various indigenous groups of the Amazon basin work together to protect their ancestral forest lands by mobilizing indigenous knowledges and transcending traditional state boundaries. Her committee was deeply impressed by the originality of her methods and findings - qualities which impressed her new colleagues at Macalaster College’s Environmental Studies Department, which Sylvia will be joining as a Visiting Assistant Professor this fall. Her Dissertation Committee included Professors Javiera Barandiarán & David-Lopez Carr (Geography Dept) Co-Chairs, Jia Ching Chen, and John Foran (Sociology Dept.)

Dr. Cifuentes will be starting a position as Visiting Assistant Professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in the Department of Environmental Studies. We're excited to hear updates about her ongoing excellence in research and teaching in the field. Congrats, Sylvia!