Dr. Karen Bakker (Ph.D. Oxford, B.A.&Sc. McMaster University) joined the Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, in July 2002 as an Associate Professor in Environmental Geography, and was promoted to Associate Professor in July 2006. After completing her doctorate in 1999 at Oxford University, funded by a Rhodes Scholarship, she held a three-year post-doctoral position as Junior Research Fellow in Water and Environmental Management at Jesus College, Oxford (1999-2002).

Her current research focuses on water governance, the political economy of environmental change, and environmental philosophy and politics. Her most recent book, Eau Canada, was published by UBC Press in 2006. She is currently completing another book on the political economy of water privatization in developing countries. For the 2007 academic year, she is a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at UBC’s Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. She is the Director of UBC's Program on Water Governance. She regularly acts as a consultant to governments, NGOs, and international development organisations.

Webpage: http://www.geog.ubc.ca/~bakker/