Jaelyn deMaria a decolonial place-based scholar. Her research agenda and my practice are intended to be place-based, decolonial, and transdisciplinary in nature, she aims to uplift strengths-based community narratives and solutions with unique place-based multimedia communication strategies. Her professional and lived experiences contribute to the research she does and guides her work. She learned from complex narratives of justice, histories and cultures in New Mexico through her work as a journalist. Her lived experiences as well as her own research are deeply rooted in the complex cultures and landscapes of the Southwest and she works to earn the privilege to conduct research in her homeland for the benefit and wellbeing of all living things connected to this landscape. Her lived experience as a Xicana woman and creator influence all aspects of her research. She teaches field-based, experiential courses that offer students opportunities to be creative and develop relationships with the land and communities that surround us. She offers students real-world knowledge based on experiences as a journalist, which was not only an experience in storytelling, but also a first-hand education with the landscape and cultures in the region. She is a community engaged researcher and photojournalist with social and cultural ties to New Mexico communities. Her research and creative projects aim to uplift community-based stories and Indigenous land-based methods as foundation for understanding. She was honored with the 2018 University of New Mexico Sara Belle Brown Faculty Community Service Award, which recognizes my outstanding service to communities in New Mexico. She is optimistic about opportunities to develop more field schools and service-learning courses based in local communities.