The whole world is a savanna; forests and grasslands are just special cases
Rissa (They/She) is from Las Cruces, NM and is Mexican and Tigua from the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo located in the borderlands of Texas and Mexico near El Paso, TX. She graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University with her degree in environmental science with a focus on Indigenous Knowledge in 2020. After graduating Rissa worked at Kansas State University researching the relationships between the presence of Bison and Cattle on plant root associated fungi on the tallgrass prairie at the Konza Prairie Long Term Ecological Research Station.
Rissa is currently a master’s student working with Dr. Hanan and Dr. Anchang. Their research is centered on using remote sensing to look at possible impacts of the U.S-Mexico border on the plant ecosystems of the Chihuahuan desert, with a focus on Indigenous communities and environmental justice.
In their spare time Rissa enjoys making beadwork, painting and gardening.