Brendan Mulligan

Bio

Brendan Mulligan wants everyone to have clean water and, to that end, is a committed advocate of community development and empowerment through scientific training and education. He is currently working for the University of Calgary as the Academic Advisor and Coordinator of "Water Management in Bolivia", a project undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Brendan has been travelling between Canada and Latin America working on groundwater management and education since 2003. Following the completion of his master’s research with the CARA Water Resource Training Network in Guatemala in 2006, Brendan co-developed a successful proposal for a six-year project involving the strengthening of a M.Sc. program in hydrogeology and integrated water resource management in Bolivia. His teaching experience includes graduate courses taught in public universities in El Salvador, Honduras and Bolivia.

Born and raised in Orillia, Ontario, Brendan currently lives in Sucre, Bolivia. He holds a B.A.Sc. in Geological Engineering from Queen's University (2003) and a M.Sc. in Hydrogeology from the University of Calgary (2006). He speaks English and Spanish and wants to learn Quechua.

Issue of Investigation

As a 2009 recipient of the Gordon Global Fellowship, Brendan will examine policy alternatives in transboundary water management. He will investigate a case study in Bolivia, with a focus on indigenous communities and the role of groundwater in the watershed. His work will be informed by interviews with stakeholders at the community and national levels in Bolivia, Chile, and Canada.