Maja Jeranko (pronounced MY-uh yeh-RAHN-koh), Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist whose work lies at the intersection of environmental and feminist anthropology and critical development studies, with a regional focus on Latin America. She has conducted long-term community-engaged ethnographic fieldwork in rural coastal Ecuador to examine the gendered impacts of multiple disasters. Since 2017, she has collaborated with Fundación A Mano Manaba to examine the politics of displacement, resettlement, and recovery in response to the 2016 earthquake, flooding, and COVID-19. Her work pays particular attention to shifting gender relations in the context of rapid socioeconomic change, shaped by evolving fishing practices, high rates of gender-based violence, and broader forms of systemic violence.

Before joining UNLV, Jeranko was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington and the CoPes HUB, where she co-led Living With Water– an interdisciplinary, community-led project on flood adaptation strategies in Seattle’s Duwamish Valley. In collaboration with the Duwamish River Community Coalition (DRCC), the project draws on ethnographic and participatory research methods, including community workshops and mapping exercises, to co-develop a conceptual flood adaptation plan and build climate resilience in one of Seattle’s most climate-vulnerable, low-income, and immigrant neighborhoods. Her work has been published by Routledge Press, and she has several manuscripts pending and under review. She is working on her first book manuscript, tentatively titled Building Equitable Futures: Gendered Recovery and Recovery Amidst Multiple Disasters in Coastal Ecuador, which shifts focus from immediate post-disaster responses to the long-term, everyday dimensions of recovery and transformation. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the University of Washington, UNC-Chapel Hill, the European Union, and others.

Originally from Slovenia, Maja is a vice president of A Mano Manaba, where she supports local initiatives rooted in environmental justice, gender equity, and community engagement. She also serves as a contributing editor for the Feminist Anthropology Section of Anthropology News.