March 18, 2026 by
Department of Geography & Planning
The Department of Geography & Planning and the Black Research Network are proud to announce this year’s recipients of the Black Graduate Scholar Award in Geography & Planning.
Congratulations to Felicia Achamah, Hannah Permaul Flores, Marcus Pereira, and Nathan Thomas on their outstanding achievements! These scholars have demonstrated exceptional dedication and innovation in their research, and we are proud to celebrate their contributions to the field.
These outstanding graduate students are engaged in research focused on inclusive and sustainable development, environmental health and climate resilience, community impacts of urban change, and the role of transportation and design in shaping equitable and well-connected cities.
Felicia Achamah
Felicia Achamah is a PhD student in Geography and Planning whose research examines artisanal and small-scale mining and its implications for livelihoods and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Her work focuses on the organization, governance, and production networks of small-scale mining sectors, in addition to sand mining in Ghana. Using a Global Production Network approach, she explores how resource extraction connects local livelihoods to broader economic systems. Her research seeks to contribute to policy and academic debates on how development minerals can be better supported to promote inclusive and sustainable economic development in the region.
Hannah Permaul Flores
Hannah Permaul Flores is a published researcher and emerging environmental health scientist pursuing her MSc in Geography at the University of Toronto. Her research explores resilience, equity, and the health impacts of climate and environmental change, with particular attention to how communities adapt to challenges such as air pollution, water scarcity, and shifting ecological regimes. She bridges field studies, spatial analysis, and community-based approaches to better understand health–environment interactions across local and regional scales. Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 and recipient of the Women in GIS Young Professional Award, Hannah has collaborated with organizations such as National Geographic and The Nature Conservancy to implement global projects that highlight both the vulnerabilities and the strengths of communities responding to environmental change. At the University of Toronto, she serves on the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS), where she advances inclusive and barrier-free climate education, engagement, and advocacy. While her academic work centres on environmental health, she also integrates spoken word poetry as a creative knowledge mobilization tool to amplify voices and connect scientific research to lived experience.
Marcus Pereira
Marcus Pereira is a PhD student in Planning at the University of Toronto whose research focuses on gentrification, displacement, and cultural preservation in Black urban communities, with a focus on Toronto’s Little Jamaica. His work examines how major development projects and neighborhood redevelopment reshape communities socially, economically, and culturally. Marcus is also the founder of Reclaim Rebuild Eg West a community organization in Little Jamaica dedicated to preserving Caribbean culture, supporting residents, and resisting gentrification, displacement, and cultural erasure.
