This story is published in YFile’s New Faces Feature Issue 2021, part one. Every September, YFile introduces and welcomes those joining the York University community, and those with new appointments. Watch for part two on Sept. 10.
The Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (EUC) welcomes two new faculty members this fall: Muna-Udbi Abdulkadir Ali and Lina Brand Correa.
“The Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change is thrilled to welcome Professors Muna-Udbi Ali and Lina Brand Correa this fall,” said EUC Dean and Professor Alice Hovorka. “Both of these scholars bring with them talents in theoretical innovation and action-oriented research – students will be inspired by their ideas and their actions for shaping a just and sustainable future.”
Muna-Udbi Abdulkadir Ali
Muna-Udbi Abdulkadir Ali joined EUC as an assistant professor in 2021. Before that, she worked as an assistant professor at California State University San Marcos and as visiting faculty in sociology at Christopher Newport University. Trained as an interdisciplinary scholar, her primary research interests include diverse fields such as Black studies, critical race studies, postcolonial studies, Black feminist studies, criminology, transnational feminism, queer studies, environmental justice, media studies, public pedagogy and public policy (specifically immigration, refugee, health and welfare policies).
Ali’s research explores issues of gender, race, class, criminality, surveillance and citizenship as it manifests for Black refugee communities. Her work has appeared as book chapters from Peter Lang Publishing and Life Rattle Press. She has also published articles in Darkmatter and Reconsidering Development. Outside of academia, Ali is a community worker, curriculum and policy consultant, researcher and anti-oppression educator. She has worked in education and curriculum development in Canada, the United States, Kenya and Somalia.
Lina Brand Correa
Lina Brand Correa is EUC’s new faculty member in the field of ecological economics. Her research interests include the impact of energy systems on climate change, energy return on investment, energy (service) requirements for the satisfaction of human needs, the impact of provisioning systems on well-being and the democratic implications of climate action.
She completed her PhD, “Following the ‘golden thread’: Exploring the energy dependency of economies and human well-being,” at the University of Leeds, received an MSc (with distinction) in ecological economics at the University of Edinburgh and a BA in economics from the National University of Colombia, Medellín campus. She has used innovative participatory workshops to analyze the relationship between energy services and human needs in different case study countries, including Colombia, Zambia, Nepal and the U.K.