María José Méndez Gutiérrez
María José Méndez Gutiérrez is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research is rooted in international relations and political theory, with special interests in critical development studies, indigenous and decolonial politics, feminist theories of violence and work, and illicit economies. She is currently working on a book project that examines the gendered political and economic entanglements of transnational gang violence in Central America. She is also a board member of Witness for Peace, a US-based grassroots organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and sustainable economies in Latin America. As a member of the Surviving Memory team, she is working on the theme of women’s embroideries and memories of the Civil War era.