Fellows
Fellow Description
The Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation works at the nexus of food, community, and society to catalyze new food system possibilities that are essential to advancing the human condition in Virginia and beyond. Being a Center fellow helps put you at the heart of this effort to bring change to our communities.
A fellow is an outstanding individual who is part of a university, organization, or community that follows the aims of the Center and is a leader and resource to community members and stakeholders in their area. These individuals have a passion for exploring critical and often complex issues related to the food system, and are committed to supporting and working towards a more equitable, just, and healthy food system.
Being a fellow is an excellent way to participate in networking, professional development, and skill development related to community change processes as part of a community-university collective. All fellows will be highlighted on the Center’s website as a valuable resource, and you will have many opportunities to share your knowledge and experience with other fellows and community members. Specifically, it provides opportunity to engage with scholarship related to food systems work and learn from the practice-based experiences of peers from the region and beyond.
Fellows of the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation are expected to be leaders in their communities. As such, we ask that you be involved with hosting a Center event once per year. This may be a speaking event, where you discuss a project or current work being done by your organization. It may also be a training program or podcast you offer for community members and other fellows.
In addition to hosting an annual event, fellows are expected to remain interested and involved with the Center’s work. The Center works to bring multiple speakers to Virginia each year, and also hosts community events, such as learning circles and workshops. While fellows are not expected to attend every event, it is anticipated that Center fellows offer input on event details and support the Center’s work by sharing news about the Center throughout their communities.
How can you become a Center fellow?
Fill out our Center Fellow Participation Form.
Current Fellows
In addition to the below list of fellows we have a core team, advisory group, and partners, listed on our People Page.
Ozzie Abaye
Professor of Agronomy
CALS Global Programs
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
Jessica Agnew, PhD, MSc, MPH
Associate Director
CALS Global
Virginia Tech
www.jessicalagnew.com
www.buy2thrive.com
Impact of Blockchain Technology on Food Insecurity Report
Thomas Archibald (he/him) Associate Professor and Extension Specialist Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education Virginia Tech
Website
John Bovay
Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture
Virginia Tech
Faculty website
Virginia Sustainable Farms and Agribusiness Education Initiative
Rachael Budowle
Collegiate Assistant Professor Honors College Virginia Tech Interinstitutional Network for Food, Agriculture, and Sustainability (INFAS) Justice Chair
Reed Byg
PhD Student
Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought
Michael Carter Jr. (Ben Ore)
Coordinator
Small Farm Outreach Program
Virginia State University
Farmer at Carter Farms
thecarterfarms.com
vasmallfarmers.com
Duron Chavis
Director/Founder
The Happily Natural Day
Thenaturalfestival.com
Duronchavis.com
Marcus Comer
Professor and Extension Specialist
College of Agriculture
Virginia State University
Natalie Cook, PhD
Assistant Professor
Public Health
Virginia Tech
Faculty Webpage
Nicholas Copeland, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of History
Virginia Tech
The Guatemalan Water Network (REDAGUA)
Danille Elise Christensen
Assistant Professor
Department of Religion and Culture
Virginia Tech
Faculty webpage
Tanya Denckla Cobb
Director, Institute for Engagement & Negotiation, University of Virginia
Chair / Facilitator, UVA Sustainable Food Collaborative
Faculty Webpage
Maria Elisa Christie
Director
Women and Gender in International Development
Virginia Tech
Faculty Webpage
Amyrose Foll
Executive Director, Virginia Free Farm
Site Director, Food Rescue US
Author, Ancestral Gradens: Millennia of Indigenous Agricultural Genius
Dr. John M. Galbraith
Associate Professor of Soil and Wetland Sciences and Extension Soils Specialist
Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension
NRV Glean Team, Faculty webpage
Eranga Galappaththi Assistant Professor Department of Geography
Virginia Tech
Maaz Gardezi
Assistant Professor
Sociology
Virginia Tech
Lab: TES LAB
Bikrum Singh Gill, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Virginia Tech
Four Stories about Food Sovereignty
Faculty webpage
Leonard Githinji
Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist
Sustainable & Urban Agriculture
Virginia State University
Saul Halfon, PhD
Associate Professor and Graduate Director
Department of Science, Technology, & Society
Virginia Tech
Faculty webpage
Ralph P. Hall (he/him)
Associate Professor & Associate Director
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) at Virginia Tech
https://ralphphall.com/; https://ashfordhall2018.com/
https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/95218
https://malawiedandchildwelfare.wordpress.com/
Impact of Blockchain Technology on Food Insecurity Report
Mae Hey
Assistant Professor
Department of History
Virginia Tech
Bryce Hoflund, Phd
Facilitator and Subject Matter Expert
Food Policy Working Group
Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance
Vivica Kraak, PhD, MS, RDN
Associate Professor
Food and Nutrition Policy, Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
Virginia Tech
Faculty webpage
Steve Kruger
Garden Coordinator
Live Work Eat Grow
www.liveworkeatgrow.org
Jacob Lahne, PhD
Assistant Professor of Food Science & Technology
Virginia Tech
Faculty webpage
Izzy Largen
Assistant Director for Food Access Initiatives
VT Engage - Student Affairs
Meredith Ledlie Johnson
VT Policy, Systems and Environmental Change Programming Coordinator
Facilitator of Virginia Community and School Garden Network
Food Security Sub Committee of the First Lady's Children's Cabinet work group
Robert (Bob) Leonard
Professor of Directing and Performance
School of Performing Arts
Virginia Tech
Faculty Webpage
Chad Martin (he/him/his)
Environmental Justice Coordinator
The Department of Environmental Quality
Councilman
City of Martinsville
Board of Directors VA Food System Council
Chad Martin | LinkedIn
Maureeen (Mo) McGonagle
Director of Regional Partnerships
The Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP)
Sarah Misyak, PhD, MPH
Assistant Director and Program Manager for Research and Evaluation
Family Nutrition Program (EFNEP and SNAP-Ed)
Virginia Cooperative Extension
The Department of Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise
Virginia Tech
Joshua Mott
Reserach Associate
Corn and Small Grains Extension
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
John Munsell
Associate Professor & Forest Management Extension Specialist
Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Virginia Tech
ABFFC; VT Agroforestry
Sophie Nicholakos
Master's Student
School of Plant and Environmental Science, Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
Erin Lorann Nuckols
PhD Student
Environmental Design & Planning Program, Myers Lawson School of Construction
Virginia Tech
www.lunarelm.com
Molly Parker
Collegiate Assistant Professor
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
Virginia Tech
Jean Parrella
Assistant Professor
Life Sciences Communications
Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education
Virginia Tech
Victoria Persinger Ferguson
Program Director Solitude
Office for Inclusion and Diversity
Virginia Tech Enrolled Citizen of the Monacan Indian Nation
Brianna B. Posadas
Assistant Professor
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
briannaposadas.com
Jayesh Samtani
Assistant Professor and Small Fruit Extension Specialist; Hampton Roads AREC, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
Faculty Webpage
Laina Schneider
Kitchen Manager
Millstone Kitchen
Live Work Eat Gather Inc.
https://oldschoolpricesfork.org/
H. Lester Schonberger
Associate Extension Specialist
Food Science and Technology
Virginia Tech
Desiree Shelley
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education
Virginia Tech
Yesa:sahį Language Project
Board Member of Southwest Virginia Agrarian Commons and Alliance of Native SeedKeepers
Member Women's Earth Alliance
Mary Sketch Bryant
Coordinator, Virginia Soil Health Coalition
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
4 the Soil
Rebekah Slabach
Associate Director
Alliance to Advance Climate Smart Agriculture
Virginia Tech
Adam Taylor
Manager, VT's Catawba Sustainability Center
Owner/Operator, Singing Spring Farm
President, Virginia Association of Biological Farming
Anna Zeide
Associate Professor, History
Director, Food Studies Program
Virginia Tech
annazeide.org
Pete Ziegler
Assistant Professor of Practice
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Director, Civic Agriculture & Food Systems Minor Program Director, USDA-NIFA Food and Agricultural Education Information System
Fellow Alumni
Our fellow alumni members participated in the fellow community during their studies at Virginia Tech and continue to do so as they have moved to new places and into roles.
Renata Carneiro
Assistant Professor
Chemistry and Fermentation Science
Appalachian State University
Susan Chen
Assistant Professor
Nutrition, Food Science, and Packaging
San José State University
Letisha Engracia Cardoso Brown
Assistant Professor
University of Cincinnati
Nicole I. Nunoo
PhD Student
Agricultural Leadership and Community Education
Virginia Tech
Publications
Joyce Latimer
Retired Professor and Extension Specialist
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
Kasey Owen
MS Student and Graduate Teaching Assistant
Agricultural Leadership and Community Education
Virginia Tech
Matthew Reiss
Graduate Student
College of Architecture and Urban Studies
Virginia Tech
Owner and Operator of Gnomestead Hollow Farm and Forage
French Price
Education and Training Specialist
Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences
University of Florida
Jenny Schwanke
Former Community Garden Coordinator
Live, Work, Eat, Gather, Inc.
blacksburgcommunitygardens.com
William Singer
Post Doctoral Associate
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences & Translational Plant Sciences
Virginia Tech