HD (Heidi) Mendoza, PhD

I am a researcher, storyteller, and creative writer working at the intersections of environmental humanities, climate risk, science communication, and art. Through creative methods such as storytelling, drawing, and serious games, I collaborate with communities to explore how they live with, remember, and anticipate environmental change brought about by hydroclimatic risks such as droughts and floods. During my PhD, I worked with riverine communities along the Peruvian Amazon. Their stories and drawings highlight the importance of the day-to-day relations and learning with the river.

Before pursuing my PhD, I worked as a Program Manager at Forest Foundation Philippines (2018-2021). Within this role, I designed and facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues, where we used engaged foresight, (counter)mapping, stakeholder analysis, serious games, and other creative approaches to allow stakeholders see different forest conservation perspectives and potential joint pathways. I also worked as a Senior Researcher at the School of Environmental Science and Management (2014-2019), where I was involved in different nationwide climate-smart agriculture, ecosystem restoration, and forest land use planning projects.

I also write creative projects (short stories and proses) as part of my commitment to reflexive and decolonial research practice. My creative works are accessible here: https://wearenotdata.org/