Originally hailing from the small coastal town of Rockport, MA, Heather is passionate about creating a just and resilient global food system that serves farmers, marginalized communities, and the land. She hopes to use her IAD degree to expand and elevate this work.

Heather has 10 years of diverse experience in sustainable agriculture and community development in the US and abroad. After completing her BA in Anthropology and Human Rights from the University of Chicago in 2014, she sought out opportunities to dig deep into the hands-on work of community-based agriculture, leading her to an Americorps position at a farm-to-school program in Vermont and a farm apprenticeship at Pie Ranch in Pescadero, CA. Her interest in international agriculture and cross-cultural collaboration brought her to the US Peace Corps in Nepal, where she served in a program focused on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and soil conservation. She worked with local farmers to expand production of crops that provide both nutrition security and economic opportunity to small farms. In the years since, she has spent her time in the Sacramento region continuing to dive deep into sustainable agricultural practices on farms of all sizes, including Full Belly Farm in the Capay Valley. In 2021, she pivoted towards the urban agriculture space, working with the Yolo County-based Center for Land-Based Learning to manage a network of small urban farms and launch a Mobile Farmers Market program focused on connecting low-income communities to fresh, local, culturally relevant produce.

Heather is excited about the interdisciplinary nature of the Davis IAD program, and plans to bring together her interests in community-driven social change and the science of agroecology as she plots her study and research path. She hopes to use an agroecological framework to study soil management strategies alongside community development methodologies that enhance local self-determination and social equity. In the future, Heather hopes to work at the grassroots level to support farming communities to share knowledge and make decisions that build greater ecological, economic and cultural resilience.