Dr. Ximena Rueda is an Associate Professor at the School of Management at Universidad de Los Andes, and a Senior Research Fellow from Environment for Development (EfD) Colombia. Her research interests include the impacts of globalization on local ecosystems and rural communities, relationships between global value chains and land use, and the design and implementation of private-driven mechanisms to advance sustainability in agricultural chains. She is also interested in analyzing global food systems, the telecoupling of socio-ecological systems, and adaptation to climate change. Dr. Rueda is currently on leave from Los Andes and is acting as Deputy Chief-of-Party for the USAID funded program Nuestra Tierra Próspera. The program is a massive land formalization initiative for Colombia´s conflict-afflicted territories. She holds a PhD in Geography from Clark University, USA.