Elise Arellano-Thompson

I am a fourth-year PhD Candidate broadly interested in human-environment geography, examining how power structures produce vulnerability. I particularly focus on Honduras for my dissertation with a Fulbright grant supporting me for ten months in the field. I use mixed methods, integrating satellite-based flood analysis with qualitative and ethnographic approaches to understand the lived experiences in vulnerable landscapes. Specifically, my research looks at 1) compounding risks where floods and violence coincide, 2) lasting neocolonial legacies that produce vulnerabilities, and 3) how the sudden withdrawal of institutional support (USAID’s dismantling) affects community resilience efforts.

 

Prior to the University of Arizona, I studied at Texas State University where I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geography. My master’s thesis examined how floods and droughts contributed to migration decisions throughout Central America and Mexico.