I have a strong commitment to teaching, research and service that focuses on global justice and sustainability.

I have previously worked on trade and development in the NGO sector in Nairobi and in Melbourne. I also worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi on the Global Environmental Outlook Report.

As a public intellectual, I strongly believe in engaging in academic research which makes a demonstrable contribution to people, society and the environment. In all the academic research projects that I have worked on, I have done so collaboratively with community-based organisations. Currently I am working with NGOs and farmers’ movements in India, the Philippines, Kenya and the Pacific Island countries. I have written several policy papers collaboratively with NGOs from these countries.

My research expertise lies in the areas of international trade policy and global food security, global agri-food production networks and the management and organisation of equitable and sustainable agri-food systems. My area of focus has primarily been the Asia Pacific region, and within this region, India. I have advanced critical agri-food management knowledge by: (a) applying insights from international trade policy scholarship to the United Nations Human Right to Food Framework; (b) advancing understanding of how organic agricultural practices using local and traditional knowledge contribute to food security in India; (c) applying the food sovereignty framework to food security issues faced by Small Island States in the Pacific; (d) advancing existing scholarship in agroecology through analysing cases in India that explore how agricultural technology and practices based on local knowledge and local resources are accessible to poor farmers, are cost-effective and are socially, culturally and gender sensitive; and (e) building the international interdisciplinary research partnerships in the area of equitable and sustainable food systems. 

Research Grants

I have demonstrated experience in leading and managing complex interdisciplinary research projects involving external partners in the area of equitable and sustainable food systems.

I have been awarded two large grants by DFAT, for which I am the Primary Chief Investigator, totalling $584,326 to work on food security and sustainability in Asia; the first was in 2015, and the second, in 2016.

In 2017, I received an ARC discovery grant of $257,000 to work on food security and the governance of local knowledge in India and Indonesia.

I have published in highly-reputable journals including Human Relations, Third World Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary Asia and South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, The Contemporary Pacific, The Journal of Business Ethics.

I am strongly committed to excellence in teaching and have continuously developed new and innovative approaches to inspire students to learn more, to work diligently and to genuinely enjoy their experience at Monash. My curriculum materials allow students to develop a comprehensive understanding of social justice, egalitarianism and sustainability. My unit evaluations attest to my commitment to excellence in teaching. In recognition of my contribution to teaching, in 2009, 2011 and 2016, I was a recipient of the Dean’s Commendation for Outstanding Teaching.

In 2022 I received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Equity, Diversity and Social Inclusion Education.

In 2020 I received the student-nominated Monash Graduate Association’s Lecturer of the Year Award. 

I am currently Cheif Examiner for the following subjects: 

International Trade Policy: MGF5730

International Institutions and Organisations: MGF5760

Geopolitics and Business Globalisation: MGF5911

Over my career I have supervised 17 Masters and 4 doctoral students to completion, all of whom have pursued research in the area of responsible management/ social justice/sustainable and equitable development. I am open to supervising students in the area of sustainable and equitable food systems. 

I actively contribute to external service in ways ranging from running short courses on the trade and development for NGOs, actively praticipating in conferences organised by NGOs and community based organisations, to writing reports for NGOs and serving on editorial boards of various journals.

• I currently serve as Regional Editor (South Asia) for the journal Asian Studies Review.
• I currently serve as a Reviewer Board Member for International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

• I have served on the International Advisory Board for the journal Labour and Industry for three years (2011-2013).

• I have served on the Monash Asia Institute (MAI) Press Committee for three years (2012 to 2015). MAI Press, an imprint of Monash University Press, has been publishing scholarly books on Asia and Asian studies for over thirty years.

• I have served on the Editorial Board of the Monash EU and European Centre Working Paper Series for two years (2011-2013).

• Given my expertise rural development and particularly in agri-food studies, I have reviewed articles for many reputable journals focussing including Third World Quarterly, Journal of Contemporary Asia, International Political Science Review, Public Health Nutrition, Geoforum, Organization, and Urban Research and Practice.

• In 2008 I coordinated and facilitated a 10-week short course on Globalisation and Trade for Global Trade Watch Australia, an Australian advocacy NGO focused on global trade governance and trade justice.

• In 2016 I was commissioned by the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) to write a report entitled: “The Implications of the Proposed PACER-Plus for the Right to Food and Food Security in the Pacific Island Countries’, in ‘Defending Pacific ways of life: A Peoples Social Impact Assessment of PACER-Plus’. In 2007 I was commissioned to write a paper by the Agri-Business Accountability Initiative (AAI), a global network of NGOs focussing on food and agriculture. My paper, which was published by AAI as part of a compendium of research studies on the changes in the agri-food systems in the Asian Region, informed AAI’s advocacy work on trade, farmer livelihoods and food security in Asia. More recently in 2019, I co-authored a booklet entitled “Listening to People, Listening to Place: A climate change guide for organisers and communities”.

• I have examined various research theses in the areas of food security, international business and international political economy, including PhD theses.

1. CROS: I currently serve as convenor of Critical Reorientations on Organisations and Society (CROS) Research Interest Group in the Department. 
2. Research Committee: I currently serve on the Department's Research Committee. 
3. Milestones Chair: I served as a PhD Milestones Chair for the Department for a period of 3 years.
4. EDSI Committee: From 2018 to 2022, I served on the Faculty’s Equity, Diversity and Social Committee as a representative of the Department, a role which I cherished.
5. Course Director: From 2012-2017, I provided strong education leadership through my role as Course Director for the Master of Diplomacy and Trade Program, a Faculty Program.
6. Mentoring: I am committed to mentoring and supporting teaching associates in developing their teaching skills. I do this through regular formal meetings where we discuss assessment design, marking rubrics, student feedback and moderation.