Megan Ybarra is an Associate Professor in the UW Department of Geography, and a faculty associate of the UW Center for Human Rights. Her new book, Green Wars: Conservation and Decolonization in the Maya Forest, published by University of California Press, examines how environmental projects have contributed to the criminalization and displacement of Q’eqchi’ Maya communities in lowlands Guatemala.

With the support of the Mack-Mayerfield and Caldwell Funds, I completed my preliminary dissertation research this past summer in Xela (also known as Quetzaltenango), Guatemala. I learned the basics of K’iche’, a native language in Guatemala, built relationships with new and old friends, and revised and strengthened my dissertation topic, which seeks to understand why, and

Letter from the Director This June marked the three year anniversary of Governor Chris Gregoire’s signing of the legislation creating the Center for Human Rights. And although the relative calm of the summer months opens the opportunity for reflection on our accomplishments over the course of this and the previous two years, it’s certainly no