Biography
As the first to attend university in my family, during my undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California, I volunteered with youth from low-income communities in Los Angeles. I often assisted students with their education and guided them through the university application process, as most of these students were also the first in their families to be attending university. Upon finishing my undergraduate studies, I joined the United States Peace Corps where I served as a volunteer in Phola Park, South Africa a semi-rural village in the Mpumalanga Province. I lived in this predominantly Ndebele region from 2010 to 2012 where I worked with a community-based organisation (CBO) assessing the needs of the community. Upon conducting site visits with caregivers, I assisted staff in setting up support groups for women experiencing domestic violence, and for people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to working with staff and caregivers at the CBO, I worked with adolescent girls at the local primary school and set up a girls empowerment club. After my time in South Africa, I began my academic career at the University of Sussex.
Qualifications
- 2016 - Present: PhD International Development, University of Sussex, School of Global Studies
- 2013: M.A. Human Rights (Merit), University of Sussex, School of Global Studies
- 2009: B.A. Journalism, Minor Human Rights, University of Southern California
Activities
Member of Sussex Centre for Conflict and Security Research (SCSR)
Student Rep for International Development (Postgraduate Research) (2019-2020)
Student Rep Member of the School Research Degree Committee (2019-2020)
Conferences:
Valle, M. "Investigating Everyday Peace: Situated Understandings of Peace in Lubumbashi, DRC.' Presented at the 8th European Conference on African Studies (ECAS) Africa: Connections and Disruptions, Hosted by University of Edinburgh. 11 June - 14 June, 2019.
Valle, M. 2019, "Decolonizing Liberal Peace: Conceptualizations of Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo." Presented at Africana Studies, the 50 Year Ripple. New York African(a) Studies Association (NYASA) hosted by York College, City University New York. 12-13 April, 2019.
Valle, M. 2019, "Situated Knowledges: Urban Narratives and Conceptualisations of Peace in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo." Presented at Contemporary Africas, Creative Africas: Conceptual and Methodological Advances in African Studies. Leeds University Centre for African Studies (LUCAS). 4-5 April, 2019.