Helena Shilomboleni

Dr. Helena Shilomboleni is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability (SERS) and the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. She is also a faculty member at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Dr. Shilomboleni is an applied scholar whose work investigates how agricultural development innovations can improve food security, strengthen resilience to climate change, and improve economic prosperity in smallholder farming systems in ways that are more inclusive and sustainable. She has published extensively on these topics and has worked with Canadian and international organizations, including the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC).

Her most recent research projects examine the nature and impact of international collaborative partnerships to promote rice innovations in East Africa. She conducts research in this region in collaboration with scientists based at the CGIAR International Rice Research Institute in Kenya, as well as agricultural professionals from national agencies and farmer representatives from community-based organizations.

• Agriculture and food security

• Scaling innovations in smallholder farming systems

• Climate resilient agriculture

• Social inclusion

• Rice

• 2017 PhD, Social and Ecological Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Canada

• 2012 MA, Global Governance, University of Waterloo, Canada

• 2009 BA, Human Ecology, College of the Atlantic, Maine, United States

• 2019-2024 Affiliate Fellow, African Academy of Sciences

• 2017-2018 Professional Development Award, International Development Research Centre

• 2025-present Faculty Representative, Research Adjudication Committee, Balsillie School of International Affairs

• 2025-present Member, Pan-African Initiative for Research (PAIR), University of Waterloo

• 2024-present Environment Faculty Representative, Senate Undergraduate Council, University of Waterloo

• Sept 2024-present Board Member, Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC)

• 2022-present SERS & GEM Faculty Representative, Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW)

• 2022-2023 Board Member, Canadian Association of Food Studies (CAFS)

• ERS 400 - Social-Ecological Approaches to Sustainability
  • Taught in 2023, 2024, 2025
• ERS 403B - Senior Honours Thesis
  • Taught in 2023
• ERS 681 - Sustainability Applications
  • Taught in 2024, 2025, 2026
• GEOG 203 - Environment and Development in a Global Perspective
  • Taught in 2023, 2024, 2025
• GEOG 207 - Climate Change Fundamentals
  • Taught in 2022
• GEOG 225 - Global Environment and Health
  • Taught in 2026
• GEOG 307 - Societal Adaptation to Climate Change
  • Taught in 2025

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Shilomboleni, H., Schnurr, M.A. and Connor, M. (2026). Collaborative Seed System Partnerships in Africa: Debates and Considerations for Transformative Impact. Agriculture and Human Values 43, 173 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-026-10992-5.

• Shilomboleni, H. and El-Shayeb, F. (2025). Grant Writing Training for Undergraduate Students: Contributions to Deeper Learning and Employability. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2025.2593483.

• Schnurr, M.A, Shilomboleni, H., Taylor, A. and Dowd-Uribe, B. (2025). Towards a more pluralistic approach to evaluating the farm-level impacts of New Breeding Technologies in sub-Saharan Africa. Genome. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/gen-2025-0023

• Shilomboleni, H. and Schnurr, M. (2025). Are disruptive agricultural technologies compatible with agroecology? Nature Sustainable Agriculture. 3, 2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00064-2

• Shilomboleni, H., Mansingh, A. & Epstein, G. (2024). Strengthening Resilience in Africa’s Smallholder Farming Systems: A Scoping Review. Ecology and Society. 29(3):22. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15373-290322.

• Shilomboleni, H. & Ismail, A.M. (2023). Gene-editing Technologies for Developing Climate Resilient Rice Crops in sub-Sahara Africa: Political Priorities and Space for Responsible Innovation. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 11 (1): 00145. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00145

• Shilomboleni, H., Recha, J., Radeny, M. & Osumba, J. (2022). Scaling Climate Resilient Seed Systems through SMEs in Eastern and Southern Africa: Opportunities and Challenges. Climate and Development, 15(3), 177 187. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2022.2073956

• Shilomboleni, H. (2020). Political Economy Challenges for Climate Smart Agriculture in Africa. Agriculture and Human Values, 37(4): 1195-1206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10126-5.

• Shilomboleni, H., Owaygen, M., De Plaen, R. Manchur, W. & Husak, L. (2019). Scaling up Innovations in Smallholder Agriculture: Lessons from the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund. Agricultural Systems, 175: 58-65. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X18312125

• Shilomboleni, H. & De Plaen, R. (2019). Scaling Up Research-for Development Innovations in Food and Agricultural Systems. Development in Practice, 6: 723-734. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2019.1590531