Dariel Helmesi

Located in Ottawa (Odawa), Dariel is grateful to live and learn on the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.

Dariel is a trilingual Environmental Anthropologist, fluent in English, French and Spanish, passionate about human-environment relationships. She holds a Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Ottawa, where she also completed her undergraduate studies in the same discipline. Through leading ethnographic fieldwork on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Healing Practices in Colombia, Ecuador, Cameroon, and Canada, she has honed her ability to navigate complex cultural landscapes and foster meaningful collaborations. As a published researcher, she integrates perspectives from anthropology, ecology, and Indigenous Knowledge systems to address complex environmental challenges through interdisciplinary approaches.

In her current role as Water Governance Associate, she supports the implementation and growth of the Collaborative Leadership Initiative (CLI), an initiative fostering partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders across Canada to address shared water governance challenges. Prior to joining CIER in 2024, she worked as a Junior Policy Analyst contributing to the National Knowledge Assessment process at Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Division, Natural Resources Canada.

In her spare time, Dariel enjoys spending time outdoors, writing, drawing, birding, and practicing yoga.