Current Projects

From Farmers to Foodies: Healing the Metabolic Rift Between Hudson Valley Farms and New York City

There are a wide variety of food system experiences in the Hudson Valley and New York City, from increasingly expensive boutique farm-to-table dining, catering to affluent urbanites, to the deeply committed non-profit educational farms that explicitly reach out to inner city youth. This research program builds on my previous work exploring how sustainable farming is identity-driven, and articulating sustainable farming practices beyond Certified Organic, published in the Annual Review of the Environment and Resources in 2017. The program has several branches of inquiry, and continues to grow with student interest. First, the work investigates how farmers’ identities are tied to (or divorced from) sustainable production in the Hudson Valley of New York, especially in the context of COVID-19. Second, it chronicles visitor’s experiences at places like apple-picking orchards and farmer’s markets to elucidate the connection between rural and urban identities along axes of race, class, education, and nationality. Finally, the research scrutinizes city policy efforts, such as FRESH NYC, to overcome the entrenched food insecurity in non-white neighborhoods. This work is unique, building an empirical understanding of how both farmers' and consumers' choices (re)produce their identities, how those choices have shifted since the pandemic, and the implications for vulnerable populations in NYC’s food system.

Advancing Gender-Sensitive Policy Responses to Climate-Fueled Violence

The goal of this work is to systematically examine the effectiveness and degree to which military operations integrate (or fail to address) gender. It contributes an urgently needed account of how to better “mainstream” gender in operational planning by using a qualitative mapping approach. Access to and control of resources are gendered and climate change will exacerbate existing inequalities in the realms of livelihoods, education, health, and decision-making. Further, the climate refugee crisis will disproportionately impact women due to these existing inequalities. Despite at least three decades of scholarship and development work illuminating the multi-level connections between gender, social relations of power, and natural resources, gender equity still not a priority during humanitarian crises. Further, in civilian-centric military operations, gender analyses are often completed by persons without expertise, missing critical differences experienced by women and girls in armed conflict zones. Reception for this work is overwhelmingly positive and we currently have an article and book chapter in press in RUSI Journal, and The Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Military Operations of Hogwate Publishing, respectively. My research partner, a former Colonel and lawyer for the US Army, and I have interest from both the British and U.S. military to pilot the geographic model I developed, which we will publish in 2023. 

How the World Burns: Indigenous Practices vs. CalFire’s Prescribed Burns

In light of climatic changes in precipitation and snow pack, California’s wildfire season is lengthening each year, prompting government agencies to examine the 100-year ban on burns in U.S. Forests, State Parks, and other public lands.  There is a tension between indigenous practices of prescribed burning and those of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). This study examines efforts to incorporate indigenous practices into current land management and fire prevention strategies across northern California. Working with the Yurok and Karuk tribes, the investigation uses participatory mapping, in-depth interviews, and critical GIS to uncover the patterns of anti-indigenous hegemony within firefighting circles. This project is participatory in nature, meaning the scope and aims are directed by the indigenous peoples with whom I work.