Susana Lastarria-Cornhiel is a sociologist who has worked on international development issues throughout her career. She contributed to UW’s international development planning program and taught courses on international development and gender. Her research addressed gender and land rights, particularly the impact of land rights on women’s status, economic opportunities, and well being.
Prior to joining URPL in mid-2004, Dr. Lastarria-Cornhiel worked as senior researcher at the Land Tenure Center, the leading university-based research institution on land policy in the world. Her past policy-oriented research focused on issues of property privatization, land markets, land conflicts, and gender in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe. She was also an affiliate of the Women’s Studies Program.
Dr. Lastarria-Cornhiel regularly collaborates with international development agencies such as the World Bank, USAID, Ford Foundation, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and other United Nations divisions such as Habitat and Division for the Advancement of Women. Publications include: The Women of Isoso: Livelihoods, Governance and Natural Resources in the Gran Chaco, Bolivia (2008), Feminization of Agriculture: Trends and Driving Forces (2006), and Shared Tenure Options for Women: A Global Overview (2005).