Borderlands Co-Directors

Amira Ainis

Amira Ainis smiling while out in the field

 

Amira Ainis is an Environmental Archaeologist specializing in the lifeways of hunter-gatherer-fisher peoples spanning the past ~11,000 years across the Baja California peninsula. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at California State University, Los Angeles, and received her PhD from the University of Oregon in 2019. Amira’s research encompasses diachronic adaptations to coastal and island ecosystems, cultural and ecological transition zones, Indigenous cultural landscapes, marine historical ecology and paleoecology, ancient fisheries, and archaeological shell studies. Her work is rooted in long-term binational collaborations with fellow archaeologists and marine scientists on both sides of the arbitrary U.S./Mexico border.

Highlight Publication

Ainis, A. F., Porcayo-Michelini, A., Vellanoweth, R. L., & Guía-Ramírez, A. (2021). Morphometric and stable isotope analysis of archaeological Totoaba macdonaldi otoliths, Baja California, México. Quaternary International, 595, 98-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.03.037

Jessica Bremner

Woman smiling and wearing green clothing

 

Jessica Bremner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Geology, and Environment at California State University Los Angeles. Her research interests lie at the intersection of spatial justice, gender, housing, participatory practices, and the environment. Her most recent work examines the processes that shape the spatial inequality of water access and housing informality in the Coachella Valley. Prior to receiving her doctorate in Urban Planning from UCLA, Jessica was the Planning Director of Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), a non-profit community development and design firm based in Los Angeles, USA and Nairobi, Kenya.

Highlight Publication

Bremner, J., (2024) “Groundwater overdraft is water dispossession”, Journal of Political Ecology 31(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.5587

 

Barry Hibbs

Barry Hibbs, professor of geology in the College of Natural and Social Sciences at Cal State LA.
 
Barry Hibbs has taught at California State University, Los Angeles since 1998, where he instructs courses in groundwater hydrology, water quality, watershed analysis, field methods in hydrology, and groundwater management. Dr. Hibbs received a B.S. in Geology from Arizona State University, an M.S. in Hydrogeology from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, a recipient of Cal-State LA’s Outstanding Professor Award, and a recipient of the National Ground Water Association Keith E. Anderson Award. Dr. Hibbs’ research focuses on technical and sustainability analysis of transboundary aquifers; stream/aquifer interactions; isotope and trace element hydrochemistry; and hydrology of urban areas. 
 
Highlight Publications
 
Hibbs, B., Bautista, C., Alwood, L., and Drummond, M. 2024. Hydrogeologic and Hydrochemical Inputs to Emerging Wetlands on the Shores of the Receding Salton Sea, California. Journal of the American Water Resources Association  60, 3.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.13220
 
Hibbs, B.J.; Eastoe, C.J.; Merino, M. 2024. Issues of Bias in Groundwater Quality Data Sets in an Irrigated Floodplain Aquifer of Variable Salinity. Geosciences 14, 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences14030066