Hello!

I am a sociologist who specializes in studying the socio-cultural, community, and governance dimensions of food systems, especially as it relates to sustainability, livelihoods, health, and food security. I am the Research Director of Community Food Systems and Social Sustainability in the Department of Sociology at Colorado State University, working closely with CSU’s new Spur campus and the Metropolitan Agricultural Research Center. Previously I was postdoctoral research fellow at Colorado State University as well as the University of Otago’s Centre for Sustainability in New Zealand. I am originally from Colorado where I have had extensive involvement in a variety of community-based projects such as community gardens, cooperatives, and urban agriculture collaborations. Before this, I was a Peace Corps agroforestry extension agent in Malawi. My research typically involves:

• Studying the socio-cultural values, identities, and practices enacted in environmental, food, and agriculture improvement efforts;

• Explaining the socio-cultural, economic, and political connections between day-to-day interactions and regional and global environmental, food, and agriculture patterns;

• And infusing sociological theory and methods into interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral work.