Dr. McElwee is an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist, with a joint Ph.D. in anthropology and forestry & environmental studies from Yale. Her research and teaching interests include adaptation to climate change and natural hazards; land-based climate change mitigation in developing countries (REDD+); globalization and natural resources use; ecosystem services; gender and the environment; biodiversity conservation; indigenous peoples; poverty, environment and development nexus; and environmental security and environmental impacts of war and conflict. She serves as a lead author for the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) and as a lead author for the Global Assessment of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).