I received my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Western Illinois University. While at WIU, I served as the President of the Student Government Association and interned at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C. through the Learning to Lead Democracy Education Program. After completing my undergraduate career, I worked as a Community Development Specialist and Youth Counselor for the Illinois Coalition for Community Services and managed a 9 county area in Eastern Illinois. I have volunteered for Midwest Model United Nations for 8 years and was appointed Secretary General in 2009.My current research interests include: community planning and facilitation, rural economic development, international development, and community leadership.
I graduated from Mary Washington College in 2002 with a BA in cultural anthropology. I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Issyk-Kul region of the Kyrgyz Republic from 2004 to 2006, where I taught English in a village school. I am a Peace Corps Fellow here at MU, and my research interests include community development, natural resource management, public health, and nomadic and pastoralist studies. I spent the summer of 2009 back in the village in the Kyrgyz Republic where I served as a volunteer, doing my thesis research on pasture land reform. I am currently writing my thesis, working as a TA for Dr. Jere Gilles, and teaching an undergraduate class on community problem solving as my Peace Corps Fellowship project.
I am a second year Master’s student in Rural Sociology, concentrating on Community Development.I received my undergraduate degree in Creative Writing from Webster University in St. Louis, MO.As a playwriting student, I was lucky enough have two plays receive awards and regional productions, as well as having the opportunity to edit the campus literary magazine.Prior to returning to pursue my Master’s in Rural Sociology, I worked in the youth and family services, taught creative writing, playwriting and storytelling to elementary school students and worked as a freelance writer in St. Louis and Seattle.I am interested in utilizing creative arts (particularly storytelling and oral history) as a unifying tool in creating common identities, and how this can be utilized in conflict resolution, collaboration between groups and community development. I also have research interests in regional, rural identities and local food systems.In addition to my coursework, I continue to write avidly, enjoy running outdoors, and spend a great deal of time cooking and eating with my husband, Brian.
I earned a B.S. degree in Biology and a M.S. degree in Industrial Hygiene from Central Missouri State University, and am currently pursuing a PhD in Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I am currently researching Campground Emergency Preparedness, Rural Tourism and Emergency Planning in Scotland, and Networks of Rural Emergency Services. I am an environmental health professional with research interests in emergency preparedness. I am currently the Director of the Institute for Rural Emergency Management (IREM) and Program Coordinator for the BS in Crisis and Disaster Management. I have been a Certified Industrial Hygienist in comprehensive practice since 1991.
I received a Bachelor of Science Animal Science from Middle Tennessee State University in 2008. Community Supported Agriculture, CSA, is my focus of research. I am interested in how this style of farming has evolved within the United States, improving the success rates of CSA farms and how they may be utilized to serve low-income citizens. I am also interested in humane animal agriculture and sustainable methods of production. I am currently working with Dr. James Rikoon on the second edition of the Missouri Hunger Atlas, as well as a survey of mid-Missouri food pantries.
After completing a B.A. in Sociology by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain, I began my professional career as a social researcher in a private sector company. Starting as a social researcher and becoming a project manager, in almost 4 years of professional experience I’ve developed both technical and management skills. In 2009 I decided to enroll at the University of Missouri-Columbia to pursue a M.A. in Rural Sociology. My research interests are primarily focused on gentrification (both urban and rural) and on the impacts of the adoption of new technologies (especially Information and Communication Technologies -ICT- ).
I am a USDA National Needs PhD Fellow in sustainable agriculture. I earned a B.S. Degree in Agricultural Economics from Lincoln University and a Masters Degree in Agri Business from Kansas State University. In addition, I have held leadership positions in supply- chain management in the food industry and served as Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras-Central America. My research interest are: sustainable supply chains, social entrepreneurship, economics of hybrid organizations, globalizing firms and small communities, as well as, sustainability reporting management systems.
I am a doctoral student focusing in community development. I hold a Masters of Science in International Trade and Development from Oklahoma State University, and Masters in Environmental Management from Miami University, Ohio. My research interests include rural livelihoods development, community development, capacity building, empowerment of poor communities, and women in development. Upon graduation, I intend to work in international development. I also enjoy volunteering with the African refugee community in Columbia.
I am currently finalizing my dissertation, "Comparing Internet Research Design Methods (IRDM) with RDD Telephone Surveys: Rural Women and Internet–based Social Capital (IbSC)." I am a modern Renaissance woman with undergraduate degrees in Economics and Computer Information Systems; Masters in Finance and Educational Technology; and multiple successful careers from corporate management to small business owner, Domestic Goddess Productions. My career goal is a dual position as professor and administrator at a comprehensive college or research university. My dissertation emphasizes my parallel research agenda of community informatics, research methods, and sociology of education. I am currently developing a NIH research grant with a working title of "Using Brain Imaging to Assess Math Abilities: Nature vs Nurture."
My focus is Community Development with particular interest in Community Emergency Preparedness in rural communities/areas. My dissertation research is concerned with the social capital in rural communities and its impact on community preparedness. My academic background is a bit varied and includes master degrees in Social Work, Human Development & Family Studies, and Plant Pathology. I have Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Sciences. Currently, I work as a Regional Specialist for University of Missouri Extension in NE Missouri and have an office in Marion County. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Missouri.
I come to the University of Missouri from North Carolina. In North Carolina, I received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Natural Resources and Ecosystem Assessment and a Master’s of Science degree in Forestry from North Carolina State University. I also hold a Master’s of Divinity degree from Campbell University. I served as Pastor for 5 ½ years in a rural church before coming to the University of Missouri to pursue doctoral studies in rural sociology and community development. Through my research, I want to help rural churches move beyond charity into sustainable ways to deal with rural poverty and other social issues in rural communities. As a minister in a rural church, I felt under-equipped to handle the social issues often found in rural communities.; It has been my experience that many ministers and lay persons feel the same way: under-equipped. I am researching ways to equip and empower rural residents to thrive in our globalized society.
I began my college career at East Central College, where I received an Associate of the Arts Degree in Business Administration in 2001. I transferred to Truman State University where I earned a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Business Administration in 2004. During my undergraduate career I studied for a semester in both Costa Rica and Uruguay; and, I spent some time studying and working in Mexico and Honduras. In the fall of 2004 I began studying for a Master of the Arts Degree in Sustainable Development at the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont. My capstone project for this program involved an internship at a sustainable living education center and research on tourism and conservation in an area along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. I graduated from SIT in May of 2008 and I entered the Ph.D. program in Rural Sociology in the fall of 2007.
I am a Graduate Research Assistant with the Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis (OSEDA) at the University of Missouri, Columbia. I hold a Master of Science in Health Informatics from the University of Missouri. I am currently a pre-doctoral student in Rural Sociology with emphasis on Community Informatics Organization and Development. My research interests are in the area of community informatics, public health information systems, geographic information systems, global infectious disease monitoring, health literacy, health disparity analysis, health promotion and disease prevention, health policy, public health reporting, surveillance integration and decision support systems and using emerging information technologies to evaluate the socio-economic and environmental impacts of group decision making at the state, regional and community level.
I have an Associate of Arts in Sociology from Georgia Perimeter College where I was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa. I then received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Georgia State University in 2010. While at Georgia State, I served on the executive board of the Sociology Club and was a student member of the American Sociological Association. While completing my bachelor's degree I worked full-time as a visual merchandiser in retail. Through this job I had to opportunity to volunteer for United Way . I became interested in the sociology of food and agriculture while studying at GSU and decided to transfer to University of Missouri for my graduate studies. I have entered the doctoral program to examine the impact modern industrial agriculture has on American society. I am also interested in consumption, gender issues, popular culture, wealth disparities and how social class impacts food procurement.
I received a BS in Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Prior coming to MU, I worked with the United Nations World Food Program Timor-Leste country office as the National Program Officer for Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping mainly dealing with food security issue. My interests include NREM, food security, sustainable agriculture, rural development and gender issues.
I earned a BS in Animal Science in the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Lima, Peru, where I am a faculty member. I got my masters in Rural Extension in Larenstein Professional University in the Netherlands. My emphasis area as PhD student is the sociology of environment and agriculture. Most of my research covers the areas of socio-environmental conflicts, common property resources, natural resources governance, and collective action with rural communities of the Peruvian Andes. Before coming to the University of Missouri-Columbia, I was doing research in livelihood adaptation to climate change in the Peruvian Altiplano. My doctoral research is about the political ecology of rangeland degradation and rangeland governance in the Peruvian Andes. I just have finished my fieldwork and currently I am working in my dissertation.
