Kurt Waldman, Assistant Professor
My passion for research at the intersection of food, agriculture, and the environment is shaped by growing up on a small farm, serving as a US Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, and working on various farms including a creamery in the Swiss Alps. Previous experience working in international development includes Catholic Relief Services (Baltimore HQ and various locations in Afghanistan), collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organization in Afghanistan, and as a short term consultant at the World Bank. I have a MS in Applied Economics from Cornell and a PhD in Sustainability from Michigan State.
Jordan Blekking, Post Doc
My interest in studying food security and food systems stem from my time serving as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia from 2012 to 2015. As a volunteer I worked with smallholder farmers on a number of agroforestry, aquaculture, and appropriate technology projects, like the bicycle plow (nkinga lukasu). Many of the farmers I worked with struggled to access seed and fertilizer inputs due to cost, distance, and availability. When I came to graduate school at IU studying access was forefront in my mind. I use geospatial and statistical analysis methods to understand how food security is related to the physical and financial access of households across the rural to urban spectrum. I earned my PhD from Indiana University in 2022. Find Jordan's CV here.
Mai Ichihara, Graduate Student
Originally from Monument, Colorado, Mai is a PhD student in Development Studies who cares about agroecology and equity within the global agrifood system. Her applied research is a social and natural science inquiry into regenerative agroecosystems and their associated business enterprises, as well as emergent governance schemes within market and jurisdictional domains. Her research looks at how agrobiodiversity is being measured, monetized, and incentivized by different actors within different contexts and geographies, specifically in the United States and Latin America. Mai holds a joint Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M) in water resource management and M.A. in Global Affairs from Yale University, and a B.A. in international relations from The George Washington University. Although she misses the Rocky Mountains very much, she is placated by upstate New York's diverse selection of locally grown apples
Daniel Fobi, PhD Student
I am interested in food and agriculture in urban Africa. The growing food insecurity issues that have led to hikes in food prices, poor health, short life expectancy and political instability, among others propel my passion to understand how farmers can increase food production sustainably but also how urban dwellers, especially the poor can afford fresh food and vegetables.