MichaelAyala Ayala

PhD | 2020

Job : Professor at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad Central del Ecuador
Location : Quito, Ecuador

Michael Ayala Ayala is a tenured Professor of Environmental Education and Agroecology at the Universidad Central del Ecuador.  He teaches at the Agricultural Sciences Department and his interest is focused on building resilient food systems both at rural and urban areas. He is an Agricultural Engineer from the Universidad Central del Ecuador with a focus on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development. He received his Masters’ of Environment on Education for Sustainability from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, and his Higher Education Diploma in Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation of Social Development Projects from Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) in Quito, Ecuador. Michael earned his PhD degree in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico in Spring 2020. His dissertation was focused on the perceptions of the impact of Agroecology in rural communities of Ecuador. He applied participatory and mixed methods to reveal the convergences and divergences that different stakeholders have about Agroecology and the dynamics of the knowledge associated with its practice.

Michael has worked as a mentor, instructor and researcher in Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in different environments, in the highlands, coastline, Amazon Region, and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. Using Environmental Education as a supporting tool, he has helped communities find their own path to sustainable development.