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
Executive Director of the Center for International Research, Education, and Development (CIRED)
Virginia Tech
Website
John Bovay
Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics 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
Natalie Cook, PhD
Assistant Professor, Public Health
Department of Population Health Sciences
Virginia Tech
Faculty Webpage
Nicholas Copeland, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of History
Virginia Tech
The Guatemalan Water Network (REDAGUA)
Danille Elise Christensen
Associate 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
Professor and Extension Specialist
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
NRV Glean Team
Faculty webpage
Bikrum Singh Gill, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Virginia Tech
Four Stories about Food Sovereignty
Faculty webpage
Leonard Githinji
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
Sustainable & Urban Agriculture
Virginia State University
Saul Halfon, PhD
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Department of Science, Technology, & Society
Virginia Tech
Faculty webpage
Ralph P. Hall (he/him)
Professor, Urban Affairs and Planning
School of Public and International Affairs
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
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
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
Virginia Tech
Faculty webpage
Kasper Krabbe
Anthropologist and doctoral student
Aarhus University
Department of Agroecology
https://www.au.dk/en/kask@agro.au.dk /
LinkedIn
Jacob Lahne, PhD
Assocaite Professor
Department of Food Science & Technology
Virginia Tech
Faculty webpage
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
Roanoke Foodshed Network Director
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 & Department of Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise
Virginia Tech
Joshua Mott
Assistant Professor of Cropping Systems and Organic Production
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
John Munsell
Professor & Forest Management Extension Specialist
Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Virginia Tech
ABFFC
VT Agroforestry
Sophie Nicholakos
Ph.D. Student
School of Plant and Environmental Science,
Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
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
Presidential Ambassador to Native Nations, Office of the President
Indigenous Community Garden Caretaker
Virginia Tech Enrolled Citizen of the Monacan Indian Nation
Jayesh Samtani
Associate Professor &
Small Fruit Extension Specialist
Hampton Roads AREC
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
Faculty Webpage
H. Lester Schonberger
Associate Extension Specialist
Department of Food Science and Technology
Virginia Tech
Desiree Shelley
Graduate Student, 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
Director, Virginia Soil Health Coalition
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Tech
4 the Soil
Jessica R. Spence
ICTAS Research Scholar & Doctoral Candidate
Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education and the Institute for Critical Thinking and Applied Science
Virginia Tech
jessicaraespence.com
Adam Taylor
Manager, VT's Catawba Sustainability Center
Owner/Operator, Singing Spring Farm
Virginia Association of Biological Farming
Anna Zeide
Professor
Deparment of History
Director, Food Studies Program
Virginia Tech
annazeide.org
Pete Ziegler
Assistant Professor of Practice
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Director, Food, Agriculture, and Society (FAS) Pathways Minor Program
Director, USDA-NIFA Food and Agricultural Education Information System
