Dr Ranald holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Public Policy degree from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Sydney. Her Doctoral thesis in International Relations at the University of NSW was a comparative study of the World Trade Organisation and regional trade agreements, and won the UNSW Humanities Research Centre Award for best doctoral thesis of 2000.
She was formerly a Senior Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, and has also worked for community organisations and unions.
She has published widely on the social impacts of globalisation and trade agreements. Her publications range from books, refereed journal articles and book chapters to submissions to parliamentary inquiries and opinion pieces in newspapers and on websites.
Current research interests include the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and other bilateral and regional trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region.
Dr Ranald is Coordinator of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET), a network of community organizations, including church groups, human rights groups, public health, union and environmental organizations. AFTINET advocates for fair trade policies based on human rights, labour rights and environmental sustainability. www.aftinet.org.au