Ekam is a PhD student in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on the intersections of political ecology, global political economy, and migration studies, with a particular emphasis on how structural adjustment programs (SAPs) have reshaped agricultural systems in the Global South.
She produced the concept of agricultural devaluation, which posits that environmental degradation, when combined with neoliberal labour and economic reforms, erodes agricultural productivity and exacerbates socio-economic vulnerability. This framework provides a predictive lens for assessing emerging threats, including social unrest, forced migration, and geopolitical tensions. Building on her Master of Science in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Ottawa, Ekam applied this framework to Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), demonstrating the deep linkages between international financial institutions’ policies, environmental change, and transnational labour mobility. Her doctoral research extends this analysis to Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on peasant and subsistence farmers in the region.
Beyond academia, Ekam brings professional experience in global governance and policy evaluation. She has been a Performance Auditor at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, where she conducted audits of federal departments, analyzed policy effectiveness, and prepared reports for parliamentary committees. She has also worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Passive House Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. These roles have equipped her with expertise in government relations, sustainability policy, and international development.
Ekam has presented her research at the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS) and the Capillary Critical Geography Network (CCGN), where she introduced agricultural devaluation to scholarly audiences. Her academic projects include policy analyses for the City of Ottawa’s 15-minute city plan and research design frameworks for the Canadian Conservation Institute. Her work is driven by a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and to advancing governance solutions that address the combined pressures of climate change, agricultural sustainability, and labour migration.