Galia is an international scholar and practitioner motivated by the need to create more just, inclusive and climate resilient cities. Her research examines how efforts to protect vulnerable urban neighborhoods from climate change through environmental improvements (e.g., new climate resilient parks and waterfronts) may actually lead to the increased insecurity of historically marginalized groups by catalyzing gentrification and displacement. She is interested in learning how to build communities’ resilience to compounding risks while protecting their social and ecological ties to place and generating more just and peaceful social relations. I have also directed non-profit educational programs in the Middle East and North Africa focused on fostering inclusive schools and communities
committed to critical thinking, respect for equal human dignity, and civic engagement. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science and has lived and studied in Spain,
France, the UK and the United States, where she is originally from.