Chona R. Echavez

Dr. Chona R. Echavez serves as the Director of the Research Institute for Mindanao Culture (RIMCU). With over 30 years of experience in research, she has worked extensively in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cambodia, and the Pacific Island Countries, managing research and communication portfolios across a diverse range of topics. Her areas of expertise include population, health, social protection for children and youth, peace and conflict, social equity and climate change, and violence against women and children, with a strong emphasis on gender as a cross-cutting theme. She holds a Ph.D. in Demography from the Australian National University in Canberra and a Master’s degree in Development Communication, specializing in Rural Sociology, from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños.