Ana Maria Rodrigues Costa de Castro

Ana Maria Castro is a Post-doctoral Fellow with the Department of Geography and the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria (UVic). She is currently involved in the project University for and with Waste Pickers (UNICATA) as a Research Assistant and Outreach Coordinator, focusing on establishing the first UNICATA classroom outside Brazil, in Canada. She is also a collaborating researcher with the Community-based Research Laboratory (CBRL).

Ana holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Hydraulic Engineering and Sanitation, and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering, with a trajectory that has consistently integrated social dimensions into what is typically treated as a technical field. She has over 10 years of experience in projects related to waste pickers, and her most recent research explored their integration for a just transition to the circular economy in Brazil and North America.