Joanna Kafarowski holds a Bachelor's degree in English from Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, a Master's degree in Geography from the University of Victoria, British Columbia and a Ph.D. in the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Program at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her doctoral thesis focused on the intersections between gender, decision-making, and contaminants in Nunavik, Canada. Current research interests include human dimensions of environmental change; Indigenous peoples with a focus on gender; natural resource management; environmental and social justice; human security and protected areas. Much of her work was conducted in the circumpolar North.