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Dr. George Atisa serves as Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator in the Department of Public Affairs and Security Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, within the School of Political Science, Public Affairs, Legal and Security Studies. He earned a Ph.D. in Public Affairs from Florida International University. In addition to his primary role, Dr. Atisa is an affiliated faculty member of the Center for Critical Race, Indigenous, and Relational Studies and coordinates the Master of Public Affairs program. He is recognized as a member of Pi Alpha Alpha, the national honor society for public affairs and administration.
Dr. Atisa conducts research in environmental science, water management, water science, biodiversity management, and modern forms of governance. His current project investigates decentralization in Africa and its effects on public policy implementation and outcomes. His scholarship explores sustainable development challenges, climate change resilience, resource management, and environmental policy. Key publications include: "Global Environmental Diplomacy" (2023); "Analysis of Urbanization and Climate Change Effects on Community Resilience in the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas" (2022); "Resource Curse in Kenya's Coastal Region: A Symptom of Institutional Failure" (2022); "A Moral and Pragmatic Analysis of Debt and North-South Economic Inequality" (2022); contributions to the "Handbook of Human and Planetary Health: Sustaining Planetary Health" (2022); "Environmental Education and Awareness: The Present and Future Key to the Sustainable Management of Ramsar Convention Sites in Kenya" (2021); "Decentralized Governments: Local Empowerment and Sustainable Development Challenges in Africa" (2021, co-authored with Aziza Zemrani and Matthew Weiss); "Using Historical Information and Data to Strengthen Planning for Environmental Protection and Management at Everglades National Park, South Florida" (2020); "Policy Adoption, Legislative Developments, and Implementation: The Resulting Global Differences Among Countries in the Management of Biological Resources" (2020); and "Indigenous People’s Environmental Concerns: The Missing Piece in Ongoing Administrative and Political Decentralization in Africa" (2018). His work has accumulated 161 citations and 1,960 reads on ResearchGate.