Faculty Spotlight
- Faculty Spotlight: Ivette Perfecto
University of Michigan food systems professor, Ivette Perfecto, was inducted on September 30, 2023 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Learn more about her research and how she ended… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Ivette Perfecto - Faculty Spotlight: Jennifer Blesh
Dr. Jennifer Blesh is an agroecology professor, Appalachian Trail hiker, mom of two, and a researcher of ecologically sustainable and socially just food systems. Her work in the U.S. and Brazil explores the environmental outcomes of agroecological practices and how… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Jennifer Blesh - Faculty Spotlight: Kendrin SonnevilleDr. Sonneville is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan. A registered dietitian, behavioral scientist, and public health researcher, she focuses on the prevention of eating disorders among children, adolescents, and young adults.… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Kendrin Sonneville
- SFSI Affiliate Spotlight: Clara Gamalski
Clara Gamalski is a Sustainability Specialist in Student Life. She advises the UM Sustainable Food Program, Planet Blue Student Leaders, and other efforts to focus on developing experiential learning opportunities through the exploration of ideas about food systems, environmental health,… Read more: SFSI Affiliate Spotlight: Clara Gamalski - SFSI Affiliate Spotlight: Jeremy Moghtader
Date: May 11, 2021 Jeremy’s warm spirit and deep knowledge of agroecological growing practices have inspired and drawn students to the University of Michigan Campus Farm. When this father of two is not offering up pearls of wisdom, you can… Read more: SFSI Affiliate Spotlight: Jeremy Moghtader - Faculty Spotlight: Brendan O’Neill
Date: February 19, 2021 Brendan O’Neill is a Research Scientist at the School for Environment and Sustainability. With his start in the Kentucky countryside, Dr. O’Neill takes a historical and creative approach to studying the soil microbiome in all its complexity.… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Brendan O’Neill - Faculty Spotlight: Jessica Kenyatta Walker
Jessica Kenyatta Walker, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of American Culture and Department of Afro American and African Studies at the University of Michigan. Previously, she was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of American Culture in the College… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Jessica Kenyatta Walker - Faculty Spotlight: Cindy Leung
Cindy Leung is an Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the School for Public Health. She is also a lecturer for the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Faculty Affiliate of the UM Sustainable Food Systems Initiative.… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Cindy Leung - Faculty Spotlight: Ray de Young
Raymond De Young is an Associate Professor of Environmental Psychology and Planning at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), and the Program in the Environment (PitE). He is also a Faculty Associate at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Ray de Young - Faculty Spotlight: Julia Wolfson
As a former professional chef in fine dining restaurants, Dr. Julia Wolfson (SPH) studies how food preparation, eating behaviors, and policy affect diet and health. Dr. Wolfson’s recent study about sodium in restaurant meals made headlines. To learn more about… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Julia Wolfson - Faculty Spotlight: Meha Jain
Dr. Meha Jain is an Assistant Professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability. A lover of fresh lychees and satellite imagery, Meha is the fifth and most recent addition to the University’s Sustainable Food Systems cluster hire. Based at… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Meha Jain - Faculty Spotlight: Catherine Badgley
Catherine Badgley is a member of the advisory board of the Sustainable Food Systems Initiative and perhaps most well known for the seminal article she co-authored about Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply. She is a vertebrate paleontologist, ecologist,… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Catherine Badgley - Faculty Spotlight: Joe Trumpey
Growing plants and animals is the cornerstone of Joe Trumpey’s creative practice. His passion for the environment and innovation drives his teaching methodology and focus on design that is less reliant on fossil fuel. Date: November 2016 Where did you… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Joe Trumpey - Faculty Spotlight: Alicia Alvarez
Alicia Alvarez, JD, is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Community and Economic Development Clinic at the UM Law School. Influenced by “rebellious lawyering”, Alicia considers what justice means at all levels of the food system. Her… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Alicia Alvarez - Faculty Spotlight: John Vandermeer
John Vandermeer is a Professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. A lifelong activist, Dr. John Vandermeer has inspired hundreds of students to critically question the world around them. His empathy and solidarity with the oppressed has drawn… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: John Vandermeer - Faculty Spotlight: Margot Finn
Margot Finn is a Lecturer at the University Courses Division. When she isn’t teaching, Dr. Margot Finn can be found watching movies and reading IMDb. This isn’t your usual binge-watch—she analyzes mass media text in order to understand the U.S.… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Margot Finn - Faculty Spotlight: Lesli Hoey
Lesli Hoey is an Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning as well as a Sustainable Food Systems cluster hire. Lesli has a boundless energy and appetite for change that permeates her personal and professional life. As a dual citizen… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Lesli Hoey - Faculty Spotlight: Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health, Department of Human Nutrition. He was hired as a part of the Sustainable Food Systems cluster. Dr. Andrew Jones has held many titles–geographer, filmmaker, pie-eating champ, researcher, professor, and… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Andrew Jones - Faculty Spotlight: Gina Baucom
Ever wondered what genome structure has to do with the sweet potatoes on our Thanksgiving table? Or how morning glory plants have evolved into weeds? Dr. Gina Baucom and her research team have pondered these questions in the lab, out… Read more: Faculty Spotlight: Gina Baucom
Visiting Scholar Spotlight
- SFSI Visiting Faculty Spotlight: Bruce Ferguson
A researcher, agroecologist, lifelong lover of peanut butter, and former student of SFSI faculty, Dr. Bruce Ferguson is a visiting scholar this semester with SFSI and the SEAS Food Systems Theme. Dr. Ferguson is a researcher and professor in Mexico… Read more: SFSI Visiting Faculty Spotlight: Bruce Ferguson - SFSI Visiting Faculty Spotlight: Harriet Friedmann
A pioneer of sustainable food systems scholarship, Harriet Friedmann has been researching, teaching, and writing about food systems since the 1970s. She was an early member of the Toronto Food Policy Council and has taught for over 40 years in… Read more: SFSI Visiting Faculty Spotlight: Harriet Friedmann
