Angela was born and raised in rural Iowa and earned a BA in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Missouri – Columbia. While at the University of Missouri, she researched informal distribution networks of local foods in rural and urban areas, gender bias in the restaurant industry, and spent a summer studying rural community development in Costa Rica. After graduating, Angela worked at a nonprofit as a Project Coordinator where she developed educational programming for urban and rural families, centered around Missouri’s local food system, to encourage support of Missouri’s family farmers and local economies. Her academic interests include local and regional food systems, public policy, and food system resiliency.