Following an undergraduate degree in biological sciences at Oxford University and a Masters in social anthropology at the University of Cambridge, Emily Caruso obtained a PhD in anthropology (University of Kent, 2012) for which she lived for two years amongst Ashaninka communities in Peruvian Amazonia, also working with their representative organisations. Her research explored the ontological grounding of Ashaninka conceptions of themselves in relation to non-Ashaninka actors, and its influence on their interactions with the neoliberal State. Since 2002, she has worked with international social and environmental justice NGOs.

Emily is passionate about nurturing and restoring people’s relationships with nature. A few years ago, she moved with her family to a rural smallholding in Rieti, Central Italy, and created an association, Semi di Cambiamento (meaning Seeds of Change), to implement local agroecology and seed conservation projects. She is also a founding member of a local educational association that established Rieti’s first holistic, outdoors-focused, community-based school.

On 1st January 2018, Emily transitioned to Director of Global Diversity Foundation in the UK, acquiring a leading role in GDF’s strategic development. She continues to supervise GDF’s growing Mediterranean regional programme and acts as an advisor for the Global Environments Network. Emily speaks fluent English, Italian, French and Spanish, and is learning Sardinian.