Margaret Wilder

Margaret Wilder is an associate professor of Latin American studies at The University of Arizona. She is also an associate research professor of environmental policy with the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and an associate professor of geography and development. She earned a Ph.D. in geography and regional development from the University of Arizona in 2002 and holds a master’s degree in public policy studies from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in government and international affairs (with certification in Latin American studies) from the University of Notre Dame.

Wilder’s research focuses on the political ecology of water and development in Latin America, water policy and water governance in Mexico, water and equity, and transformations in small-scale agriculture in northwest Mexico and Central America. Her recent research examines the interconnections of climatic change and the vulnerability of water resources in the U.S.-Mexico border region, and she is a principal investigator of several projects supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research.

She supervises several master’s degree and doctoral students in Latin American studies, geography, and related fields, who study such topics as water and environmental policy in Latin America or immigration and U.S.-Mexico border interests. Her graduate and undergraduate courses in Latin American studies and geography often include field trips to Mexico and the border region.

Previously, Wilder was a senior urban planner and an aide to the mayor in the city of Tucson, Arizona, and from 1991 to 2002 was associate dean of the UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona.