Raquel Carvalho has a long experience as a researcher and project coordinator in the Brazilian Amazon. During these different short-term consultancies and long-term job positions in non-government and government organizations, she was responsible for primary and secondary data surveys in the field for the declaration and management of protected areas, LUCC processes related to the expansion soybeans and cattle expansion, and the socio-environmental impacts of new infrastructure. Besides research, she also did work in conflict management, training in diverse contexts and was a political liaison. With a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and a master’s degree in plant ecology, her growing interest in the human-environment relations and the decision-making process leading to changes in the Amazon regional landscapes were her primary motivations to pursue her P.h.D at the National Institute of Spatial Research (INPE) in Brazil. In this research, she investigated how diverse cattle raising systems related to changes in the dynamics of forest regrowth in a context of increased pressure against deforestation. At the Gibbs Land Use and Environment Lab, Raquel will apply her field experience and knowledge of cattle raising land-use systems to investigate the land-use processes connected to cattle production, especially concerning improving the standards in this supply chain.

Her main interests outside the lab are history, museums, literature in general, foreign languages, and people from different cultures and backgrounds. During her stay in the USA she intends to learn and explore the country as much as possible.