About Cristina's Work
Cristina Balboa’s research incorporates international relations, comparative policy and organization theory to demonstrate how internal organizational traits (i.e. capacity, structure, ethos, diversity and leadership) contribute to or detract from the balanced accountability of the political institutions of private governance – from nonprofits to networks, certification mechanisms, and global governance organizations. Her dissertation – “When Non-governmental Organizations Govern: Accountability in Private Conservation Networks” – was awarded the 2010 Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).
She has been awarded fellowships at Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science to Achieve Results (EPA-STAR) program, the Switzer Foundation and the Environmental Leadership Program, where she currently serves as a Senior Fellow. Prior to her academic work, Cristina spent almost a decade working in nonprofits in Washington D.C. and Ecuador on environmental issues in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.
She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in Environmental Policy and Governance, Masters Degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.