Gund Institute for Environment

Alissa White

Gund Global Affiliate, Senior Manager for Climate and Agriculture, American Farmland Trust

Alissa White is an agroecologist and transdisciplinary soil scientist engaged in participatory research on soil health, ecosystem services and sustainable livelihoods. Alissa’s research integrates social and ecological data on ecosystem services and climate resilience to explore complex problems, and what drives change when agriculture is faced with ecological crises. Her research places farmers as central agents in creating solutions to pressing challenges facing agriculture, highlights the role of networks in supporting farmers' adaptive capacity, and identifies tradeoffs in ecosystem services from alternative soil management strategies.

Dr. White is currently the Senior Manager for Climate and Agriculture for the American Farmland Trust where she oversees the implementation of research and programs that address climate change and soil conservation in New England. As a Postdoctoral Associate with the Gund Institute for Environment, Alissa built research collaborations to generate usable and context-specific information for farmers and policy makers about soil health and payment for ecosystem services. She holds a PhD in Plant and Soil Science from UVM, and earned her BA in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz.

Publications

White, A. C., Faulkner, J. W., Conner, D. S., Méndez, V. E., & Niles, M. T. (2022). “How can you put a price on the environment?” Farmer perspectives on stewardship and payment for ecosystem services. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 77(3), 270-283. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2022.00041
White, A., Faulkner, J.W., Conner, D., Barbieri, L., Adair, E.C., Niles, M.T., Mendez, V.E. and Twombly, C.R. (2021). Measuring the Supply of Ecosystem Services from Alternative Soil and Nutrient Management Practices: A Transdisciplinary, Field-Scale Approach. Sustainability, 13(18), p.10303. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/18/10303
White, A., Faulkner, J., Sims, S., Tucker, P., & Weatherhogg, K. (2018). Report of the 2017-2018 New England Adaptation Survey for Vegetable and Fruit Growers. Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont. Burlington, VT. https://cdn.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/20181025153509/New-England-Adaptation-Survey-Report.pdf
Mason, R. E., White, A., Bucini, G., Anderzén, J., Méndez, V. E., & Merrill, S. C. (2020). The evolving landscape of agroecological research. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 1-41. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2020.1845275
Utter, A., White, A., Méndez, V.E. and Morris, K., 2021. Co-creation of knowledge in agroecology. Elem Sci Anth, 9(1), p.00026. https://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/article/9/1/00026/118930/Co-creation-of-knowledge-in-agroecology

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Soil health, climate change, agroecology, ecosystem services, participatory research, farmer networks, payment for ecosystem services

Education

PhD, Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont
MS, Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont
BS, Environmental Studies, University of California at Santa Cruz

CV

Alissa_White_CV_09.2022.pdf

Contact

Email:

awhite@farmland.org

Website(s):