My research interests focus on the links between human and natural systems in water and land management, and the interactions between social and individual variables influencing adaptation of people in arid regions in the context of global change processes (climatic and socioeconomic). I have a master degree in social sciences with specialization in Public Affairs from El Colegio de Sonora, and a bachelor degree in Educational Psychology from the Universidad de Sonora, both in my native country, Mexico. In 2012, I was awarded a Fulbright-García Robles Scholarship for graduate studies in the U.S. and a fellowship from the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) in Mexico. In 2011, I received a research award for my master thesis on organizational networks of environmental NGOs in Hermosillo, Mexico, and in 2014 a research award from the Central Arizona Project for my comparative analysis of rural groundwater management in Arizona and Sonora. From 2014 to 2015 I was a member of the Carson- Haury Program for improving communication of environmental science at the Institute of the Environment.