Juliana was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and migrated to Florida, USA. She obtained a BS in Biology from Florida International University and worked as a scientific diver determining anthropogenic impact in Florida Bay through algae tissue analysis. She then pursued teaching certification and has taught integrated & environmental sciences and English at schools in Colombia, USA, South Korea, Spain, and Trinidad and Tobago. She holds a master’s degree in Sociocultural Anthropology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain and her thesis focused on the epistemology of human-environment relations.

Juliana has enjoyed inspiring young activists around the world and wishes to continue generating impact through place-based transformative pedagogies. She is funded through Leadership for the Ecozoic, a joint program between the University of Vermont and McGill University in Montreal, and her research interests are nested in an imminent shift in consumption and production paradigms from modern westernized societies. Drawing from post-development theory, political ecology, regenerative agriculture, and ecological economics, Juliana hopes to employ decolonial and participatory place-based approaches to inspire increasingly critical, political, and sustainable consumers. Juliana likes to write, all arts, mindfulness, and among her favorite activities is watching sea turtles nest.