Explorer.Researcher.Educator.
Rebecca is a National Geographic Young Explorer who works in Peru and Canada on projects related to Indigenous health and anthropology.
Rebecca has over 4 years of research and project management experience in Indigenous health and climate change adaption in Peru and Canada. She has studied human-centered and empathetic design, and collaborated on work to improve Indigenous health advocacy in Canada.
Rebecca has received both a Young Explorer and Early Career grant from the National Geographic Society. Her previous work looked at how Indigenous Amazonian perceptions of health and well-being relate to spiritual beliefs, and what this means for the design of health interventions.
Rebecca's most recent project investigated food and culture, through community-led photography, in the Peruvian Andes. This work was done alongside with Mater Iniciativia and Mil restaurant in the high Andes.
Photo Credit: Jen Shook Rochefort
Fb live on National Geographic Travel, articles coming soon!
Various presentations and media engagement - instagram, FB live, with Inkaterra and National Geographic
Featured in 2018 Colombia oil spill coverage by National Geographic, March 2018
Investigative piece for Mongabay.com, co-authored with Kevin Floerke, July 2016
Commentary for Global Health Now, co-authored with Kevin Floerke, July 2016
Featured writer on National Geographic Explorer Voices Blog, April and September 2016
"Its spirit is strong": Shawi spirits, healers and diarrhea in the Peruvian Amazon. 2015.
Research Poster - Awarded 'Best Contribution to Global Health' Prize
Learn more about design and systems change work in Indigenous health and education with the University of Toronto Medical School.
While undertaking projects in Peru and Canada, Rebecca acts as an educator on international gap year semester and summer leadership programs for high school and college students.
New York Times Student Journey: Public Health and Development - Sacred Valley, Peru, 2018
Outward Bound Canada -Urban Instructor, Toronto, Ontario
Tim Horton Children's Foundation - Program Facilitator, Canadian Rockies, Tim Horton Children's Ranch
Carpe Diem Education - Peru and Ecuador, South America Semester, Fall 2016
Amigos de las Americas - Barranquilla, Colombia 'Global Health & Social Transformation', 2016; Cotopaxi, Ecuador 'Youth Entreprenureship', 2014
National Geographic Student Expeditions - Peru Community Service, 2015
“When Michelin Stars meet Indigenous Agriculture” is a new National Geographic Funded project, that looks at the realtionships between food and culture in an Andean community as compared to one of Peru’s top restaurants. This project is currently in progress! Stayed tuned for publications, articles and media coming in Spring 2019.