Title: USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow

Bio:  Dr. Lia Kelinsky-Jones is an interdisciplinary social scientist whose integrated research, teaching, and community development work focuses on sustainable, just, and climate-resilient food systems using an agroecological lens. She advances this work via two primary domains: 1) praxis including the role of university-based community development, engagement, and education in advancing agroecology and climate resilience; 2) policy including how collaborative and participatory governance approaches shape regional and local food systems and climate resilience. Most recently, she served as a Civic Science Fellow at Johns Hopkins’ Agora Institute where she investigated university-based climate policy engagement. She has over a decade of administrative leadership experience from Virginia Tech where she worked in the fields of university engagement, international development, intercultural learning, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and program development. Personally, she grew up in five different countries and speaks both Spanish and French. She is an avid gardener of both food and flowers, enjoys road and mountain biking, and throwing pottery on the wheel.

Areas of Emphasis: Sustainable, just, and climate-resilient food systems, policy, participatory approaches, international and community development, curriculum and program development/management, facilitation, & program evaluation.

Education:
Ph.D. Agricultural, Leadership, & Community Education, Virginia Tech
M.S. Agricultural Extension and Education, Virginia Tech
B.S. Psychology, Hollins University