“…The power of the researcher is in communicating his or her own interpretation of the teachings” – Margaret Kovach

I come from the territories that are now called Peru. I was born and raised in the coastal province of Callao, but my family roots are in the Peruvian Andes. I currently reside in Toronto, the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee peoples.

I hold a M.A. in Sociology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and a B.A. in Sociology and Government from Skidmore College. I am a United World Colleges Scholar and a Davis United World College undergraduate scholarship recipient.

My dissertation looks at the dynamics and politics of violence in urban marginalized neighbourhoods through the experiences of women. I want to understand how different forms of violence are connected and their effects on people’s lives. I am currently doing research on the factors associated to women’s incarceration in Peru, the relation between the criminal justice and education system in the U.S., police relations with Indigenous peoples, and intergenerational violence and healing among Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQ+ peoples in Toronto.

I combine research with community work and advocacy because I firmly believe in the transformative power of engaged scholarship. I am a founder of The People’s Pantry – A Toronto community response to COVID-19 and a steward for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902. I am also a member of the executive board of the Graduate Sociology Students’ Association (GSSA) at the University of Toronto. I have also been the executive coordinator of Grupo Sofia, a network of women professionals that promotes gender equality in the social sciences in Peru supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.

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Follow me in Twitter: @A_RomanAlfaro

Email: andrea.romanalfaro@mail.utoronto.ca