Isabel graduated from UVic with a BA (Hon) in political science and global development studies. She specialized in political economy, and her interests can mostly be pinned at the intersections between community planning, ecology, and regenerative economic development.

She was born and raised as a third-generation settler on the lands of the W̱SÁNEĆ and lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples. Her time on the island has been interspersed with periods living in Spain, Montreal and Thailand. Her work is informed by a global perspective on conservation-based economic development that aligns with IISAAK OLAM’s mandate: the transformations that will solve our most deep-seated socio-ecological problems are best achieved when environmental conservation and economic development are co-evolving, community-led, and culturally informed.