People

ALC Leadership Team    Research & Outreach Staff    Associates & Collaborators      Current Students    Undergraduate Research Fellows    Alumni

ALC Leadership Team

V. Ernesto Méndez 
Co-Director, Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative & Professor of Agroecology Contact: Ernesto.Mendez@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, Food Security/ Sovereignty, Agrifood Systems, Political Ecology, Participatory Action Research (PAR),

Martha Caswell, M.P.P. 
Co-Director, Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative
Contact: Martha.Caswell@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, community-based participatory action research, food justice, farmer livelihoods, agroecological approaches to climate change resilience, project design and management.

Vic Izzo, Ph.D.
Educational Coordinator, Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative and Lecturer
Contact: vizzo@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Evolutionary Ecology, Entomology, Sustainable Pest Management, Agroecology.

Scott A. Lewins, M.S.
Research Associate
Contact: slewins@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Entomology, Biological Control, Insect Agroecology, and Sustainable Agriculture

Ava Murphey, B.A.
ALC Program Coordinator
Contact: Ava.Murphey@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology training and education, Master Coordinator, UVM Farmer Training Program, Food Justice Facilitation

Research Associates and Collaborators

Alejandra Guzmán Luna, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher ALC-Gund
Contact: Alejandra.Guzman-luna@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, Participatory Action Research, Livelihoods, Small-scale coffee farming

Rigoberto Hernandez Jonapa, B.S.
Mexico Coordinator “Assessment of Diversification Strategies in Smallholder Coffee Systems of Mesoamerica” Project
Contact: rhernandez.jonapa@outlook.com
Areas of Focus: Participatory Action Research (PAR); Coffee Systems; Chiapas, Mexico/Investigación Acción Participativa (IAP), Sistemas de Café, Chiapas, México

Diana Luna
Research Associate
Contact: diana.lunagonzalez@gmail.com
Areas of Focus: Food security and nutrition, Sustainable livelihoods, System dynamics modelling, Participatory Action Research

Stephen R. Gliessman
Professor Emeritus of Agroecology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Chair, Board of Directors, Community Agroecology Network
Editor, Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Contact: gliess@ucsc.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, Agroecological transitions, Sustainability, Education in Agroecology, Sustainable Food Systems

Roseann (Rose) Cohen, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Community Agroecology Network (CAN)
Research Associate, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), University of California, Santa Cruz
Contact: rose@canunite.org
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, participatory action research, political ecology, gender, youth, immigration.

Katlyn Stillings Morris, PhD
ALC Research Associate; Higher Education Field Representative, AFT Vermont.
Contact: Katlyn.Morris@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Tropical smallholder agriculture, food security, international environmental studies, agroecology, farmer livelihoods and health

John Hayden
Owner and Farmer, The Farm Between, Jeffersonville, VT
Contact: thefarmbetween@gmail.com

Joshua Faulkner, Ph.D.
Farming and Climate Change Coordinator, Center for Sustainable Agriculture Contact: Joshua.Faulkner@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Climate change adaptation in agriculture; soil and water management; agricultural hydrology and water quality

Carol Adair
Assistant Professor of Climate Change and Adaptation
Contact: carol.adair@uvm.edu

Margarita Fernandez Ph.D.
Executive Director, Vermont Caribbean Institute
Contact: margaritafernandez2@yahoo.com
Areas of Focus: Agroecology; Food security; Food sovereignty; Livelihoods; Cooperatives.

Gabriela Bucini, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Plant & Soil Science
Contact: gbucini@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Ecology, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Human-ecological systems

Patricia Natividad

Visiting PhD student, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid    Areas of focus: agroecological systems, evaluation of development programs in rural areas

Current Graduate Students

Janica Anderzén
Ph.D. Student, Department of Plant and Soil Science
Contact: Janica.Anderzen@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: smallholder coffee agroforestry systems in Mesoamerica; livelihoods assessments in smallholder communities; international migration and immigration policies; project design and management.

Maria Rosa Yumbla
Ph.D. Student, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Contact: myumbla@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, Rural Development, Participatory Action Research, Feminization of agriculture, decolonization and territory.

Alissa White
M.S. Student, Department of Plant & Soil Science
Contact: Alissa.C.White@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, participatory action research, agricultural resilience to climate change, sustainable livelihoods, and the intersections of global climate change, sustainable agriculture and ecology.

Alisha Utter
Ph.D. Student, Department of Plant & Soil Science
Contact: autter@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Beginning farmers and ranchers; stockfree farming; food safety implementation on small and medium-scale farms in New England.

Ben Dube
Ph.D. Student, RSENR & EE Certificate Student
Contact: bdube@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Energy in Food Systems, Grass-based Farming, Ecological Economics, Impacts of Agriculture on Climate Change

Sam Bliss
Ph.D. Student, Natural Resources
Contact: samcbliss@gmail.com
Areas of Focus: Ecological economics, degrowth, decommodifying food, non-market agriculture, yard farming

Undergraduate Research Fellows, 2019-2020

Ella Wegman-Lawless

Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2019

Contact: ella.wegman-lawless@uvm.edu

I am a Food Systems senior and am excited to be involved in the ALC because of it’s transdisciplinarity. I am passionate about food and food systems! I grew up farming small scale produce, and pasture based livestock. I have experience in establishing a farm to school chapter, creating and teaching hands-on food related lessons and managing young adults farming. I have worked and lived side by side with adults with special needs, practicing subsistence biodynamic agriculture. Currently my interests lie in making these food connections to incarcerated or recently incarcerated populations. In my free time, I love to build community, attempt to do sourdough baking and bike through all seasons!

Leany Munoz

Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2019

Contact: lmunoz@uvm.edu

I am a sophomore with hopes of graduating in 2021. I am in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as Environmental Studies major and Eco Ag minor. I’m interested in understanding human impact from environmental action as well as learning the history of nature as it has evolved. I’m also interested in natural medicine and how we can interweave the functions of modern medicine and naturopathic practices. I’m most excited about working with farmers in order to better understand their perspectives in crop production and conservation agriculture. I look forward to getting to know everyone on the team, and see what amazing new knowledge blossoms from this experience! 

Sophia Wilcox-Warren

Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2019

Contact: sophia.wilcox-warren@uvm.edu

Sophia is a Sophomore in the Rubenstein School and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences majoring in Environmental Studies and Food Systems. Her areas of interest are sustainable and resilient food systems, soil health, restoration ecology, and environmental education. She is excited to work with different farms through the ALC and get some hands-on experience.

Carlin Molander

Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2019

Contact: carlin.molander@uvm.edu

I am a Sophomore majoring in Food Systems and Environmental Studies with a minor in Anthropology in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. I am most interested in sustainability within modern agriculture as well as PAR research and soil health management. As part of the ALC Fellowship I am looking forward to meeting and learning about the large strata of interests and experiences brought by other members of the ALC and their research projects.

Paul Beattie

Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2019

Contact: paul.garica-beattie@uvm.edu

I am a sophomore studying Ecological Agriculture through CALS.  I have developed an interest in plants and the diverse ways of growing them.  More specifically I enjoy agricultural methods that work with the land to better conserve and rebuild soil and to identify ways to create symbiotic environments for all forms of life encompassing specific crops so the farmers can attain a high enough yield to satisfy profit margins, but also to consider land fertility as a type of profit.  This fellowship will allow me to get more immersed in my actual degree as well as develop better leadership principles in this avenue. I will also get to see how farmers in this area operate and overcome seasonal issues and what their specific methods are in farming.

Bri Arnold

Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2019

Contact: barnold2@uvm.edu

I am a senior majoring in Plant Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences with minors in Anthropology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. I’m interested in agroecological systems that provide ecological restoration and build community resilience across species. As an ALC fellow I’m excited to engage in discussions and projects that bring us closer to seeing positive transformations in our food systems and ecosystems!

Past Undergraduate Research Fellows

Nell Carpenter
Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2018
Contact: Nell.Carpenter@uvm.edu
Nell is a junior Environmental Studies Major and Food Systems Minor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Nell’s areas of interest include food access and justice, environmental studies, and gender studies. Nell’s roles in the ALC include assisting in research for the Thought for Food Project and support to other projects. 

Emma Trainor
Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2018
Contact: Emma.Trainor@uvm.edu
Emma is a senior ENVS student in the College of Arts and Sciences with a concentration in Nature, Culture, and Justice. Her roles in the ALC include offering support in preparation for the PSS 212 Advanced Agroecology Course, as well as support for other current research projects.

Olivia Andreozzi
Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2016-2017
Contact: Olivia.Andreozzi@uvm.edu
Olivia is a senior ENVS student in the College of Arts and Sciences hailing from Rhode Island. Her areas of interest are Environmental Studies, Anthropology, and Food Systems. Her roles in the ALC include facilitating meetings as well as assisting in research for the Urban and Peri-urban Agroecology project.

Alumni

Bennett LaFond
M.S., Department of Plant & Soil Science
Contact: Bennett.LaFond@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Agroecology in International Development; Smallholder Coffee Production; Soil Conservation and Erosion Control; Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture.

Rachel Schattman, Ph.D.
Produce Safety Specialist, University of Vermont Extension
Contact: rschattm@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Best management practices for Vermont farmers in the face of climate change, applied research and outreach, farmer to farmer education

Margarita Fernandez, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Vermont Caribbean Institute
Contact: margarita@vtcaribbean.org
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, food security, food sovereignty, livelihoods, cooperatives

Sebastian Castro, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow in GIS and Remote Sensing, Antioch University New England
Contact: sebastiancastro28@gmail.com
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, coffee, GIS, quantitative analyses

Katlyn Stillings Morris, Ph.D.
Research Specialist, Center for Rural Studies, University of Vermont
Contact: Katlyn.Morris@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Tropical smallholder agriculture, food security, international environmental studies, agroecology, farmer livelihoods and health

Meryl Richards, Ph.D.
Science Officer, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and Research Associate, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Contact: meryl.richards@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Climate change mitigation in agricultural systems, quantification of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity conservation

Katie Goodall, Ph.D.
Botany Postdoctoral Fellow, Wellesley College
Contact: katherinegoodall@gmail.com
Areas of Focus: Agroecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Landscape Ecology, Latin America, Farmer Livelihoods

Marcela Pino, M.S.
Co-Founder and Co-Director of Food 4 Farmers
Contact: marcela@food4farmers.org
Areas of Focus: Agroecology and rural livelihoods, community and organizational development, food security and smallholder farmers.

Dan Erickson, Ph.D.
Founder and Managing Partner, Food Systems Research Institute
Contact: derickson@foodSRI.com
Areas of Focus: GIS, Food Systems

Lee Gross, M.S.
International Program Specialist at USDA FAS
Contact: leehgross@gmail.com
Areas of Focus: Agricultural sustainability standards and value chains, monitoring and evaluation, corporate sustainability, partnership management, training and capacity building, and integrated landscape management

Rafter Sass Ferguson, Ph.D.
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor in Environmental Science at Haverford College
Contact: rsferguson@haverford.edu, liberationecology.org
Areas of Focus: Diversified farming systems, permaculture, grassroots movements, political agroecology

S’ra DeSantis, M.S. 
Plant and Soil Science/Agroecology (2009)
Co-director of the Farmer Training Program at UVM
Contact: sra.desantis@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Organic management of small-scale, diversified agricultural production, organic vegetable production

Andrew Gerlicz
M.S. – CDAE (2016)
M&E Coordinator for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Contact: Andrew.Gerlicz@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Economic viability of agroecology in small-scale production

Dana Christel
M.S. Plant and Soil Science (2016)
Market Manager at Plovgh, Inc
Contact: Dana.Christel@uvm.edu
Areas of Focus: Use of Bokashi in small scale vegetable production

Angel Cruz