Evelyn Lwanga Namubiru
School of Public & Environmental Affairs & Political Science Indiana University

I am a joint Ph.D. student in Public Policy at Indiana University, Bloomington. I come from Uganda. Before starting my PhD. I worked as a research scientist as well as a lecturer at Makerere University, one of the leading Universities in Africa.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Makerere University and a Masters degree and a graduate diploma (with a distinction) in Environmental Management and Development from the Australian National University. Throughout my education, I have had the good fortune to be taught and mentored by many whom I would label as 'outstanding'. Currently, I work with Professor Elinor Ostrom, who is one of the most outstanding scholars of the ‘nature of collective action and rational choice.’ While I claim my educational achievements to be based on my own determination to succeed, I readily acknowledge that many of the choices, which have shaped my career to-date, are due to the encouragement I received from different teachers and mentors along the way.

After finishing my studies in Australia, I went back to Uganda and started working at Makerere University as a lecturer and researcher. Since then, I have played a leading role in imparting knowledge to future policy makers. I taught in two faculties, that is, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation and in Faculty of Arts. I have lectured in various degree programs, which included: Forestry, Community Forestry, Development Studies, Organization Studies and Environmental Management.

Currently, I am carrying out research on the indigenous utilization and conservation of medicinal plants in Uganda, work that I hope will improve the lives of people that depend heavily on these resources.

My extracurricular interests include participating in activities that promote women and the girl-child advancement, poverty alleviation and taking part in various church activities. Through these interests I have obtained several achievements. I was given an award for being an outstanding Student in Bachelor of Science Forestry Program, Makerere University. After obtaining this degree I was also able to compete for the Australian Sponsored Training Scholarship (ASTAS) for Postgraduate Studies in Australia. This was a highly competitive scholarship with only 3 women candidates countrywide. In 2000, I obtained a Ford Foundation Fellowship for the Summer Institute on Africa’s Oral Heritage and Indigenous Knowledge in a Changing World, at Indiana University. The knowledge I obtained is being utilized in the current research project. Beginning 2001, I was awarded a SIDA fellowship to pursue an advanced international training program in ISO 14000-Environmental Management Systems, Stockholm Sweden. My most recent achievement has been applying for and attaining the Compton Peace Fellowship to carry out my Ph.D. research.