Bio

Jessica L. Koski (Anishinaabe-Ojibwe) is a PhD student at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (UBC) co-supervised by Professors David R. Boyd and Terre Satterfield. She is interested in Indigenous resurgence and the realization of Indigenous rights to land and resources. Her doctoral research will apply Indigenous theory and methodology to examine multi-level governance challenges and possibilities for protecting Indigenous territories in the eastern Amazon region of Brazil in the states of Maranhão and northern Tocantins.

Jessica has a B.S. Degree in Social Sciences from Michigan Tech and a Master of Environmental Management Degree from Yale. Her background includes advocacy and technical support for community-based concerns associated with metallic sulfide mining near Lake Superior. She’s served on the Steering Committee of the Western Mining Action Network (an NGO supporting over 400 communities across Canada and the U.S.), the U.S. National Environmental Justice Advisory Council’s Indigenous Peoples Work Group, and co-chaired the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Annex 10 Science Subcommittee Traditional Ecological Knowledge Task Team. Between 2015-2021, she served as a Program Manager and Branch Chief with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Midwest Region supporting more than 30 Tribes in multiple areas of natural resource management.