Mary Ann is a Filipina feminist activist researcher based in Ghent, Belgium. Animated and inspired by decolonial feminism, her PhD project looks at the intersections of indigenous peoples’ struggles for self-determination, forest conservation and development. Prior to her academic stint, she has 17 years of professional experience working with an activist think tank and advocacy NGO, grant-making organization, and social movements advocating for redistribution, ecological, gender and social justice, and alternatives to development. Mary Ann received her Undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and her master's degree in Globalization and Development at the Institute of Development Policy and Management at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. She sees her PhD and teaching journey as a politics of self-care that allows her to continue her political work and activism.