Danae Zachari
Advanced research support technician
Research:
Joining Date:
05/2026
Address:
IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID
E-mail:
danae.zachari@imdea.org
Danae is a member of the Economic and Institutional Analysis Group at IMDEA Water, where she contributes to research on water security, climate resilience, and hydrological disaster risk reduction.
She works on the SPIDERS (Sustainable Grassroots Programs and Initiatives for Household Water Security and Hydrological Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy) initiative led by Dr. Nazim Uddin and supported by the Regional Ministry of Education, Science and Universities of the Community of Madrid, which seeks to advance locally grounded approaches to water resilience through grassroots engagement, socio-ecological science, and multi-level governance transformation across diverse global contexts.
Danae holds a BA in Sociology and an MA in Human Geography from the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada. Her academic background in WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) includes field experience in water and sanitation governance and waste management with local communities in Ghana, where she applied community mapping as a preliminary study with the Koforidua Zongo community to examine conditions shaping water-related health risks and community assets that inform pathways toward improved public health outcomes, aligned with community visions for transformative change.
Her work is grounded in Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR), co-production of knowledge, relational methodologies, and inclusion of lived experience and community expertise. Her master’s thesis highlights how social and relational infrastructure shape health, food security and livelihoods, while also challenging deficit-based narratives by centring community knowledge and agency.
She is particularly interested in arts-based and creative participatory research methods and is committed to working with communities to support more equitable and inclusive approaches that reduce preventable harm and advance health equity and social wellbeing.
