Shalmali Guttal is Executive Director of Focus on the Global South, where she has worked since 1997. She has worked in India, the United States, and mainland Southeast Asia. Her academic background is in the social sciences with particular emphasis on participatory education and qualitative research. Since 1991, she has been researching and writing about economic development, trade and investment, and ecological and social justice issues in Asia - especially the Mekong region and India - with emphasis on peoples' and women's rights to resources.