Rebecca Wasserman-Olin is a first year PhD student in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics. She received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed her M.S. at Cornell University where she investigated consumer purchasing habits of local produce. In between her studies, she worked as a community organizer and economic researcher in Minnesota helping farmers assess the economic impact of incorporating conservation practices into their crop rotations. She also worked as a researcher at Cornell University supporting regional food systems in New York State. Throughout her career she has worked on vegetable farms ranging from 1 to 25 acres and she finds herself happiest in a pack shed. She looks forward to learning about agricultural systems in Colorado and supporting the great work of the Food Systems Institute.

Yue is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology, who concentrates on rural sociology, development, food industry clusters, and East Asian studies. Yue grew up in a small town in northwest China. She received her BA in General Sociology from Colorado State University and China Agricultural University and her MA in Sociology at Colorado State University. In her Master’s thesis, Yue utilized in-depth qualitative methods to examine how social inequalities were created and reproduced through the seafood industry in the Zhoushan Islands of China, and how this development has affected local rural communities in terms of uneven development, social networks, and community embeddedness. Her study was recognized by the Rural Sociological Society for its 2020 Master’s Thesis and Dissertation Research Award and the 2021 RSS 4 Minute Flash Talk award. Her current research involves conducting a comparative

analysis of organic food consumption in East Asia, and how this speaks to sustainable development and global value chains. In her free time, Yue loves landscape photography, filming, and reading cosmology.

Siwen is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at CSU. She completed her undergraduate studies at Henan University of Economics and Law with a B.A. in Public Management and obtained her M.S in Labor Economics from Shaanxi Normal University in China. Her past research contributed to understanding how China’s rural poor were affected by current issues, particularly as they relate to children’s health and education. Her current research at CSU focuses on the determinants and consequences of health disparities and social inequality among US immigrants relative to their native counterparts. Her research interests lie at the intersection of food policy, health economics, immigrant welfare, and labor economics. The overarching theme uniting all her research is to improve the well-being of vulnerable groups through evidence-based analysis of policy impacts on those groups.

Jenna is a Master’s Student in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a Nutrition concentration. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Cornell University in 2019 with a B.S. in Nutritional Sciences. After graduation, Jenna moved to Boston and worked as a Nutritionist at the Boston Living Center, an HIV resource center. She came to CSU to pursue her interests in the link between diet and planetary health. Jenna is currently working on several projects in Dr. Megan Mueller’s lab, which focus on the influence that the restaurant industry has on consumer ordering behavior. She plans to analyze restaurant nutrition and sustainability practices across the US and understand how that might impact menu offerings. In the future, Jenna hopes to contribute to the growing field of sustainable nutrition. Outside of the lab, she competes for the Fort Collins running team, Front Range Elite, in both the marathon and ultra distances.

India Luxton is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology. India received her BA in Sociology from Western New England University in 2015 and her Master’s degree in Sociology from Colorado State University in 2017. Her dissertation research investigates key factors that led to high rates of COVID-19 transmission in meat processing facilities. Her prior food system research experience has revolved around food justice, urban agriculture, meatpacking, and assessing conservation practice adoption among farmers. In these projects, she utilizes qualitative research methods and social network analysis. One of India’s key pursuits is translating science into practice and helping individuals and organizations work towards environmental and social justice.

Ana is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Systems Thinking for Obesity Prevention (STOP) lab in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. She received her MS in Nutrition at CSU in 2018 and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Her master’s thesis investigated the use of community-based participatory research among youth to promote food access in a low-income neighborhood. Ana’s current research focuses on food insecurity, primarily among households above poverty in high cost-of-living regions. Ana is enthusiastic about building food environments that make nutritious foods accessible for all. As a dietitian, Ana works with clients to promote a positive relationship with food and use it as fuel for daily activities and chronic disease prevention. She enjoys spending time outside for all 300 days of Colorado sunshine, cooking, and hanging out with her dogs.

Annika is a second-year Ph.D. student in Food Science and Human Nutrition. After graduating from California Lutheran University with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, she went on to complete an MSc. in Human Nutrition from The University of Sheffield. Annika’s master’s research project explored potential toxic exposure through the consumption of crops grown on contaminated soils. Here at CSU, Annika currently is part of the NSF’s Interdisciplinary Training, Education, and Research in the Food-Energy-Water Systems Program working on the development of rice bran as a nutritious food ingredient. Annika is also part of Dr. Elizabeth Ryan’s research group where she is studying the gut microbiota and metabolome changes associated with rice bran in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition. Annika grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and in her free time, loves yoga, reading in the sun, and exploring the bike paths around Fort Collins.

Skyler is a first-year master’s student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. He grew up in Oregon and completed his undergraduate studies at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA with a BA in Economics and BS in Computer Information Systems. Through Skyler’s studies and experience as an IT Technician at Cal Lutheran, he discovered his passion for using data systems to provide equitable solutions. At CSU he has been able to apply this passion to real-world problems as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Regional Economic Development Institute (REDI). His current research involves conducting impact analysis for the best utilization for equitable and inclusive outcomes of Colorado’s newest State Park, Fishers Peak State Park, in Trinidad, CO. He greatly enjoys his new life in Fort Collins exploring Old Town, hiking, mountain biking, and visiting extended family.

Ming is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at CSU. Ming obtained a BA in Agricultural and Forest Economics Management and an MA in Agricultural Economics and Management from China Agricultural University. Her previous research focused on the supply chain efficiency of the vegetable industry in China. Now she focuses on soil carbon sequestration in agricultural production under agricultural conservation policies. She also conducts research on hemp production. During her free time, she likes hiking, being outdoors, and enjoying the landscape in Colorado. She also likes practicing yoga and cooking. In the future, she hopes to continue to engage in environmental research at the university and help solve environmental and natural resource problems.

James is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Sociology, who specializes in studying the socio-cultural, community, and governance dimensions of food, agriculture, and environmental improvement efforts. He has spent time in both practitioner and research settings including working as a Peace Corps agroforestry agent in Malawi, helping spearhead alternative food projects in Colorado, and leading related research projects at Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Public Health. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago where he studied social sustainability and governance in New Zealand agriculture. More recently, he has been contributing to the social dimensions of food system modeling, deploying social network analysis to study food and agriculture networks, and working on the conceptualization and operationalization of cultural capital in community development. In his free time, James enjoys hiking, cooking, camping, and music.

Ben is a Master’s Student in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a Food Science Specialization. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Ben graduated from Colorado State University in 2017 with a B.S in Fermentation Science and Technology. Since graduating he has worked in the distilled spirits industry as an operator, product developer, and packaging manager for various distilleries in Colorado and as far as Western Australia. He is returning to CSU to assist Dr. Charlene Van Buiten on her research into gliadin sequestration and its potential as a therapy for those with Celiac Disease. In the future, he hopes to work on food product development focused on plant-based and sustainable foods. In his spare time, Ben is an avid mountaineer, skier, and river runner.

Laney is a Ph.D. candidate in the Ecology program at CSU. Laney obtained a BA in Environmental Sustainability and Studies and an MA in Sustainable Communities from Northern Arizona University. Her previous research focused on plant-based school lunch programs throughout the U.S. and how systematic changes can help reduce the barriers to provide plant-based and plant-forward meal options to all school districts. She is very passionate about food systems, sustainability, plant-based lifestyles, and systems change. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, hiking, climbing, kayaking, hammocking, and practicing yoga. She also hopes to visit all the national parks one day. Laney hopes to become a professor in the future and help educate people about environmental issues and various solutions.

Francesco is a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University. He has his PhD in Environmental Engineering from University of Trento. His work is focused on extending cloud computing platforms with surrogate modeling capabilities, and complex networks for hydrological modeling. He is currently conducting this research at OMSLab. During his free time he enjoys all that the Colorado outdoors have to offer and spending time catching up with his friends.

Shuiqin is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Her research interests include industrial organization, information economics, and agricultural policies. In particular, she uses econometrics tools such as difference-in-difference and regression discontinuity design to evaluate the causal effect of public policy programs. She has also participated in the design, distribution, and analysis of research surveys. She is working on a choice experiment to design a water nutrient management policy to better serve farmers and agriculture in Colorado. Shuiqin likes to read economics papers, conduct economic analyses, and write research papers. In Shuiqin’s spare time, she likes hiking, mountain biking, playing tennis, and cooking healthy and delicious food.

Javier Antonanzas is a postdoctoral researcher focused on sustainability studies of food and energy production systems. He applies life cycle assessment techniques to understand the carbon footprint of diverse areas such as cereal farming, poultry and dairy industries, natural gas production and transmission systems, and solar energy. He is very passionate about sustainability and tries to transmit this passion to students in the sustainable energy courses that he teaches at CSU. Outside of work, he spends his free time climbing and running in the mountains.

Hailey Summers  is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering and her research is focused on quantifying the sustainability of agriculture, bio-processing and food-related systems through life cycle and techno-economic assessments. She is interested in understanding environmental and economic trade-offs within individual systems, as well as improving the process efficiency of existing product pathways and supply chains

Regan’s research interests lie in the broad scope of sustainable agriculture and food systems. Within this area, she enjoys studying local and organic markets, consumer behavior, food access and security, and sustainable consumption and production. As an undergraduate, she researched the U.S. market implications of a CO2-equivalent tax on meat consumption and statistically analyzed producer adoption of conservation practices in conventional Nebraska and Iowa agriculture. Regan also served as president of UNL’s Student Organic Farm and has worked with Nebraska Extension and local farms. She’s thrilled to be a part of this team working to improve our food systems for all.

As a Masters of Political Science candidate, Eddie’s thesis tracks the coevolution of agri-food (large and small scale) with the diets, health, and overall lifestyles of not just consumers, but individuals in the production of food also. By focusing on the historic, political economy of food industries, insight into its relationship with our broader society can be drawn. He received a bachelor’s degree in history and in political science from Colorado State University in 2017 and is a Colorado native.

Chelsea has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from UC San Diego and a Master’s degree in Biology from Seoul National University. She is adopting a translational, interdisciplinary approach for her PhD research on beans, using laboratory work to answer key questions that will inform the development of outreach materials. She thinks it is critical to integrate dissemination into research plans, and she is preparing for a career with Extension. Chelsea also helps coordinate the Food Systems webinars.

Erin loves being part of the CSU food systems team! Her interest in food systems and agriculture began in college when she worked on a ranch in Arkansas for a summer. She continued to learn about various food systems after college, living on a small fishing island in Maine for two years and studying seaweed aquaculture as an income diversification strategy for lobstermen. Then she worked for the YMCA Nutrition Department running their after-school and summer meal programs in the mountains of western North Carolina before moving to Fort Collins. Her research interests include food systems as a mechanism for economic development, particularly in rural areas, supply chains, and, of course, potatoes! In her free time, Erin enjoys cooking adventurously, going to bluegrass shows, brewing beer, playing frisbee, snuggling her (very unimpressed) cat, and hiking and running the local trails.

Azmal’s research interest is the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus and its climate change implications. As a national research trainee of InTERFEWS at CSU, he is particularly interested in how climate change affects food security amidst the growing scarcity of irrigation water in the Global South. His interest in food security comes from his MA thesis where he examined how the underlying connections between climate change and household characteristics influence women’s nutritional status in Bangladesh. Currently Azmal is engaged with different multidisciplinary research groups covering food justice in the US prison system, implications of the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) for Colorado’s food system, the COVID-19 pandemic and food security, climate change resilience of indigenous, rural and vulnerable communities in the South-central region of the USA, and climate gentrification and socio-environmental justice.

Currently, Hailey is researching worker perspectives in livestock operations in order to better working environments, training methods, and animal welfare. While she doesn’t have a farming background, she received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University, where she engaged in community agriculture outreach and worked at 4-H events in the area. Previously, Hailey spent time teaching children about livestock handling and animal agriculture systems across the US. At CSU she is assisting on a variety of projects in the Department of Animal Sciences, ranging from equine behavior to animal handling. She is very excited to reach out to communities to help them grow fresh produce and raise livestock in order to attain a nutritious and balanced food supply.