Dr Itzel San Roman Pineda

Profile

I am a critical geographer and interdisciplinary researcher working at the intersections of people‑centred climate services, global development and decolonial mixed‑methods research. With extensive research experience, my work brings together social science, meteorology, AI‑based forecasting and community knowledge to create climate‑information and early‑warning systems that are trusted, equitable and grounded in lived experience.

My PhD in Human Geography (University of Sheffield, 2022) introduced the “tourism from below” framework, which uses feminist and decolonial methodologies to show how Indigenous communities reshape externally driven development interventions. This foundation continues to shape my research that aims to bring the lived experiences, priorities and rights of marginalised communities into systems traditionally shaped by top-down technical expertise.

As the FASTA Development Manager at the University of Leeds, I lead the research and strategic expansion of the Forecasting African STorm Application (FASTA). I work closely with National Meteorological Services and universities in Africa to co‑produce, operationalise and evaluate forecasting innovations in real‑world settings. My research includes nowcasting implementation, risk communication, AI‑model integration to operational workflows, generating empirical evidence that strengthens climate resilience and decision‑making for vulnerable communities.

Research interests

My research focuses on the human dimensions of global environmental change, with specific interests in:

• Grassroots and Indigenous knowledge in development: Analysing community‑led responses to social, economic, gender and environmental inequalities.

• People‑centred climate and weather services: Co‑producing early‑warning and climate‑information systems with African National Meteorological Services and communities using a GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion) approach. This includes the operational integration of forecasting innovations and the evaluation of trust, usability, institutional uptake and end‑user decision‑making.

• Mixed‑methods, participatory and decolonial methodologies: Interdisciplinary research that integrates meteorology, computer science, social sciences, community knowledge and institutional processes to improve weather and climate information systems.

• Open qualitative research: Examining transparency, data ethics, epistemic justice and methodological innovation in open research practices.

• Gender, safety and inclusion in fieldwork: As the co-founder of the Network of Women Doing Fieldwork (NWDF), a global initiative with +250 researchers, where I co-lead seminars, workshops, methodological innovations and activism in academia for safer, gender‑inclusive and ethical field research across disciplines.

Peer-reviewed publications and book chapters:

• Zavala Guillen, A., San Roman Pineda, I., Markowitz, A., Veenstra, J., Dornelles, V., and Cepero Rua Perez, P. 2026. 41 Fieldwork. In: Calkin, S. and Freeman, C. ed. De Gruyter Handbook of Feminist Political Geography. De Gruyter, pp. 511-524. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111289274-042

• San Roman Pineda, I. 2022. 'Social Capital and Social Networks' in The Routledge Handbook on Livelihoods in the Global South (1st ed.). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003014041

• San Roman Pineda, I., Lowe, H., Brown, L., and Mannel, J. 2022. 'Viewpoint: Acknowledging trauma in academic research.' Gender, Place and Culture. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2022.2159335

• Krauss, J., Mani, S., Cromwel, J., San Roman Pineda, I., and Cleaver, F. 2022. 'Bringing research alive through stories: reflecting on research storytelling as a public engagement method.' Research for All. Vol. 6(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/RFA.06.1.20

Other publications:

• Report: Tidy, J. and San Roman Pineda, I. (2024). Project Report: Data Transparency in Qualitative Research. [Report] Sheffield: The University of Sheffield. doi: forthcoming.
• Report: Hanchard, M. and San Roman Pineda, I. (2023). Project report: Fostering cultures of open qualitative research. [Report] Sheffield: The University of Sheffield. doi: 10.15131/shef.data.24807987.
• Article: San Roman Pineda, I. (2023) ‘The Challenges and Benefits of Making Qualitative Research Open’, Open Research Doctoral Times, Available at: https://www.flipsnack.com/tuostimes/doctoral-times-open-research.html Blog: Zavala Guillen, A., San Roman Pineda, I. (2023)
• Academic Partnerships to Confront Gender-Based Violence in the Field’, Geography Directions by RGS-IBG, 5 April. Available at: https://blog.geographydirections.com/2023/04/05/ academic-partnerships-to-confront-gender-based-violence-in-the-field (Accessed 30 August 2023).

Open data sets:

• Survey Responses: Hanchard, M., San Roman Pineda, I. (2023) Fostering cultures of open qualitative research: Dataset 1 – Survey Responses. The University of Sheffield. DOI: 10.15131/shef.data.23567250.v1.
• Interviews: Hanchard, M., San Roman Pineda, I. (2023) Fostering cultures of open qualitative research: Dataset 2 – Interview Transcripts. The University of Sheffield. DOI: 10.15131/shef.data.23567223.v2.
• Report: Poveda Villalba, S., Murphy, J., San Roman Pineda, I., García Gómez, D. (2023). 'For Women, With Women: Exploring Gender Inequalities In Vocational Training And Employment - Final Report'. The University of Sheffield. Report. https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.22731062.v1
• Video storytelling: San Roman Pineda, I. (2019) 'Solidarity in Tourism for Development', presented at the ESRC Festival of the Social Sciences in the event Tales from the Global South event. Available at: https:// digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk/media/Solidarity+in+tourism+for+development/1_4znxbv03

Qualifications

• PhD in Geography, University of Sheffield
• Master’s in Business Administration (Finance), Universidad Tec Milenio (Mexico)
• BA in Marketing, Universidad Anahuac
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Professional memberships

• Society of Latin American Studies (SLAS)
• Network of Women Doing Fieldwork (NWDF) – Co-founder