Research Interests

I propose to explore the use of regenerative and no-till agriculture in Ontario and Quebec through research and interviews with farmers and government and non-governmental agencies involved in this work. I seek to better understand the motivations, challenges, and experiences of transitioning to this type of agriculture and the conditions for its successful adoption. Agriculture is an incredibly complex social practice, deeply rooted in local cultures but also highly manipulated by large corporate interests. Current research on alternative agriculture highlights themes of social and environ-mental justice, climate change, food sovereignty, inequality and the ownership of both knowledge and nature. I seek to learn more about debates over sustainable agriculture and rural development and apply them to current agricultural models and our (in)ability to realize meaningful food system transformation close to home.

Brief Biography

Christina is a doctoral candidate in Global Development Studies. She holds an MA in Geography from Queen’s University and a BSc in Environmental Science from Carleton University. She also has experience working in government and language teaching.

Research Interests

Christina researches the justice outcomes of climate finance in Colombia and Indonesia’s energy transitions. Christina uses a qualitative, multi-scalar comparative case study design, linking macro-level financial governance tools to their local impacts.

Awards

• 2026 Mitacs Globalink Research Internship
• 2025-26 Senator Frank Carrel Fellowship
• 2024-25 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)
• 2019-20 SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (CGS-M)
• 2019 David Edney Research Travel Award
• 2018-19 Queen's Graduate Award

Teaching Experience

• DEVS 361: Policy Advocacy (winter 2025, winter 2026)
• DEVS 280: Global Engagement (fall 2024, fall 2025)
• DEVS 260: Globalization, Gender, and Development (summer 2025)
• BIOL 243: Introduction to Statistics (summer 2019, fall 2019 [online course development], winter 2020)
• GPHY 101: Introduction to Human Geography (fall 2018, winter 2019)

Publications

Frendo, C. (2025). Feeding the green gentrification machine: Urban Agriculture and the Barriers to a Just Ecological Transition in Montréal, Québec. Urban Geography. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2025.2577144

Donald B., Frendo C. and Southey, B.P. (2020). Public geographies. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Second Edition. pp. 75-77. Elsevier, New York.

McCune, J., Frendo C., Ramadan M., and Baldwin, L. (2020). Comparing the effect of landscape context on vascular plant and bryophyte communities in a human-dominated landscape. Journal of Vegetation Science, 32(1), e12932. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12932

Little A.J., Sivarajah B., Frendo C., Sprague D.D., Smol J.P., and Vermaire J.C. (2019) The impacts of century-old, arsenic-rich mine tailings on multi-trophic level biological assemblages in lakes in Cobalt, ON. Science of the Total Environment, 709, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136212

Research Interests

My research interests lie in unpacking the contradictions inherent in the use of neoliberal ideas to drive development policies and planning in the Global South. I am studying the master planning of Bonifacio Global City in Manila, Philippines. I am doing so through the lens of political economy, which looks at the intersections of power in money in shaping the material world. I approach this study with almost a decade of experience working as an urban planner in the private and public sector across Asia and Canada.

Research Interests

My research interests centre around the military-industrial complex and the involvement of private military and security companies (PMCs/PSCs) in extractive industries. Situated in the context of extensive and continued environmental degradation, my research will consider what available information on PMCs/PSCs in extractive industries tells us about access to and control over resources.

Brief Biography

I hold a Specialist Diploma in management from Alatoo International University (2011) and an MA in economic policy from Central European University (2013). I have a decade of experience in the development aid sector, and my work centers on the intersections of political ecology, agrarian transformation, and water governance. My thesis examines questions of water access and justice through a case study of the Fergana Valley.

Research Interests

Agrarian transformation, water governance, and water justice.

Awards

• Global UGRAD (2009)
• CEU fellowship (2013)
• Graduate Dean’s Travel Grant, Queen’s University (2025)

Teaching Experience

• DEVS 101: Development Studies in Global Perspective
• DEVS 250: Environmental Transformations
• DEVS 280: Global Engagement

Publications

"Contesting Central Asian hydro-hegemonies: state territorialisation and the Qosh Tepa Canal in Afghanistan," co-authored with Marcus Taylor, Water International, 2026.

“Hydro-hegemony and transboundary conflict resolution: the case of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan”, Potentia: Journal of International and Public Affairs, 2023.

“Claim Characteristics and Return to Work Outcomes for Ontario Public Safety Personnel with Mental Stress Injury Program Claims, 2014-2023”, co-authored with Megan Edgelow, Larissa Oliveira, and Nazmul Islam, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, upcoming.

Research Interests

My research aims to explore how agricultural co-operatives can bolster smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa. Climate variability, characterized by drought, unpredictable rainfall, and soil degradation, continues to threaten food security, yet agricultural co-operatives remain underutilized in adaptation strategies. I plan to examine how co-operatives facilitate resource pooling, provide institutional support, and enable access to climate-smart innovations, while encouraging rural farmers to adopt climate-resilient crops that improve productivity and ensure long-term food security.

Research Interests

The concept of power is intriguing to me, as it is inherent and impactful but yet often subtly overlooked. To overlook how difference can limit or amplify access is to overlook power. This form of delusion, strengthens the status quo. My research interest is embedded in addressing power in international aid, particularly in relation to decision making, governance and accountability to affected communities.

In my last professional assignment, I worked with more than 47 member agencies, both local and international in Bangladesh, to identify gaps in their accountability mechanisms and co-create an accountability framework. My work sparked my interest in exploring the political governance of aid and how representation is politicised, particularly related to power politics between local and international NGOs, community participation and broadly the economic and social costs of aid.

Brief Biography

Sandra is a doctoral candidate and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Global Development Studies at Queen’s University. She holds an M.A. in Development Studies from York University, an M.A. in Sociology from McMaster University, and a B.A. (Hons.) in Social Psychology from McMaster University. Before beginning her doctoral studies, she worked as a consultant in Peru's mining sector, where she is originally from.

Research Interests

Sandra's research engages with debates around resource extraction and development. She focuses on resource governance, sourcing initiatives, and revenue-sharing systems in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). For her doctoral dissertation, using a "following the thing" methodology, she examines the experiences of artisanal copper miners, their communities, traders, and processing plants as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of Peru's ASM (in)formalization process. Her work is situated within the broader context of an increasing demand for critical minerals.

Awards

• 2022-2026 SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship
• 2024-2025 MinErAL Research Network Scholarship
• 2025 Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Travel Award
• 2024 Karl Polanyi Graduate Student Essay Prize, runner up, Canadian Association for the Study of International Development
• 2023-2024 International Development Research Award (IDRA)- IDRC (declined)
• 2020-2021 Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master's Program (SSHRC)
• 2020-2021 The Paavo and Aino Lukkari Fieldwork Research Award
• 2020-2021 York’s University Graduate Fellowship

Teaching Experience

Teaching Fellow:

• DEVS 356: The Political Economy of Resource Extraction (Winter, 2025).

Teaching Assistant:

• DEVS 101: Development Studies in Global Perspectives (Fall 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025)
• DEVS 102: Canada and the World (Winter 2022, 2024)
• DEVS 230: The Global Political Economy of Development (Winter 2024)
• DEVS 365: Trade and Investment in the Global South (Fall 2023)

Selected Publications

McKay, S. (2026). Critical minerals or criminal miners? The (in)formalization of artisanal and small-scale copper miners in Peru. The Extractive Industries and Society. 25, 101811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2025.101811 

McKay, S. and Hall, R. (2025). Gold as something to be Proud of? Contradictions of ethical consumerism in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Third World Quarterly. 46(13), 1647-1666. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2025.2544337

McKay, S. (2025). Entering the Critical Era: A review of contemporary research on artisanal and small-scale mining. The Extractive Industries and Society. 21, 101590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2024.101590

Melendez, L. and McKay, S. (2026). Are some minerals more governable? Copper mining materialities and formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining in Peru. Resources Policy, 105813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2025.105813