Starjoan Villanueva

Starjoan ‘Starj’ Villanueva is a researcher, practitioner, trainer and facilitator with over 20 years of knowledge and experience on peace and development issues affecting Mindanao in Southern Philippines. She is one of the authors of the book, Out of the shadows: Violent conflict and the real economy of Mindanao, published by International Alert Philippines in 2013. She is a member of the Women Waging Peace Network that promotes women participation in peace and security matters worldwide. She is a fellow and alumna of the Asia-Pacific Center for Peace and Security Studies based in Hawaii, USA. 

Starj is a Research Lead for XCEPT at The Asia Foundation. She leads the research by the X-Border Local Research Network on cross-border trade in the Sulu Archipelago.