V. Ernesto Méndez serves on the leadership team of the Institute for Agroecology as the Faculty Director and is a Professor of Agroecology at the University of Vermont’s Department of Plant and Soil Science. His research and teaching focus on agroecology, agrifood systems, smallholder coffee systems, participatory action research (PAR), and transdisciplinary research approaches.
At UVM, he is also a faculty member of the Food Systems Graduate Program, fellow and steering committee member of the Gund Institute for Environment, and also active in advancing issues of justice, equity, anti-racism, diversity and belonging. He has over 25 years of experience working with smallholder farmers and Indigenous communities in Latin America and collaborating in agroecology efforts in a wide diversity of regions. Recently, these efforts have expanded across the world and currently include education and research initiatives in the Northeast U.S.A., Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Since 2022, he serves as vice-president of the board of directors of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA). He has authored or co-authored over 65 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, as well as edited three books. Most recently, he joined his former UCSC mentor, Professor Emeritus Steve Gliessman, as co-author of the fourth edition of the textbook "Agroecology: Leading the Transformation to a Just and Sustainable Food System" (CRC Press).
Ernesto was born and raised in El Salvador and maintains deep connections with his Central American roots.
