About Nia

Nia Cambridge (she/her) is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography at Rutgers University – New Brunswick whose research sits at the intersection of human-environment geography and critical development studies. In her work, Nia analyses the efficacy and implications of climate adaptation and mitigation projects in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), with a particular focus on nature-based financing instruments. Her doctoral dissertation project, Banking on Blue, examines how emerging forms of ocean-based climate finance in The Bahamas are being developed and implemented in practice.

Nia was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas. Prior to graduate study, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies.  She is currently in The Bahamas for AY 2025 – 2026 conducting fieldwork for her dissertation with the support of the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship.