Anthony Dest earned his Ph. D. in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. His research explores how people struggle to build autonomy and self-determination throughout the Americas. His book manuscript analyzes how rural communities continue to confront racism, violence and dispossession in spite of the landmark 2016 Peace Accords between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Dr. Dest has received fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Inter-American Foundation, and Fulbright to support his research. He previously worked at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and went on to found the Colombia Land Rights Monitor and serve on the Coordinating Committee of the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network (ACSN). He is also 2018 Mamolen Dissertation Workshop Alumnus.