Initiative
SA Fall '24 Mich
Call notes
talked to him, coming to dinner
Title
Instructor/Internship Coordinator/Faculty Farm Director
School Name
Eckerd College
Department
Environmental Studies
Engagement Description
food justice/sovereignty, urban agricultural policy, farmworker and food chain worker rights, seed sovereignty, on campus food insecurity
Experience
I've taught Food & Sustainability every year since 2016. It's been a reflective service learning course since 2021 when we got the campus farm up and running. For that class, students meet on the farm each week for farm work and also volunteer with community organizations. With colleagues from UF/IFAS Extension and University of South Florida, I started the Food Justice and Sustainability Internship Program that ran from 2016-2020 and placed students in alternative food-systems internships and convened each week at different sites to give a broad picture of food-systems work in the Tampa Bay Area. My Food Movements course is probably the most directly tied to social action as I try to introduce students to a variety of approaches to social change through the lens of food-related projects. They meet with a wide variety of local actors involved with promoting social equity and environmental sustainability, conducting participant observation and organizational profiles. In past semesters, students have helped out with events that convened people and organizations to discuss the state of food-systems work and opportunities for collaboration. Finally, in my role as Faculty Director of the campus farm, I develop partnerships and collaborations with local organizations that seek to create unique educational opportunities while supporting community efforts.
Interest
As an Environmental Studies Instructor, I currently teach two service learning courses (ES 228 Food & Sustainability and ES 328 Food Movements) that offer hands-on, place-based, and community-engaged activities focused on getting students involved in social action. As Faculty Director of the Eckerd College Community Farm, I coordinate educational programs and community-based initiatives. I'm interested in learning from others involved in this kind of teaching and participating in a broader teaching/learning community focused on social change. I'm inspired by work that seeks to leverage the resources (human, financial, and otherwise) of higher education to contribute to and support social and environmental change and I'm eager to deepen impact and expand the scope of the social activism within all of my classes.
How did you hear about opportunity
INFAS newsletter
Semester Teaching
Fall '25
Course Plan
Existing Course
Community Engagement
Social Action
Breakout Group
Environment & Sustainability
