Christian Peters, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Tufts University
Foodprints and Foodsheds Role: Project Director
Website: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/faculty/Peters-Christian
Contact: P: 617.636.6908 E: christian.peters@tufts.edu
Bio Overview: Dr. Peters joined the faculty of Tufts University 2010, where he conducts research, teaches three courses and advises graduate students in the Agriculture, Food, and Environment Program. He studies the sustainability of agriculture and food systems through the use of modeling, and his current research addresses both the land requirements of the human diet and the biophysical capacity for developing local and regional food systems Dr. Peters performed one of the first spatial analyses of potential local foodsheds, providing a concrete example of a term that has resonated with the local and regional food movements. Dr. Peters has an academic background that spans both environmental and agricultural sciences. He received a B.S. degree (Environmental Sciences) from Rutgers University in 1995, a M.S. degree (Soil and Crop Sciences) from Cornell in 2002, and a Ph.D. (Soil and Crop Sciences) from Cornell University in 2007.
Jennifer Wilkins, Ph.D., R.D.
Senior Extension Associate and Lecturer
Division of Nutritional Sciences
College of Human Ecology
Cornell University
Foodprints and Foodsheds Role: Project Co-Principal Investigator and Outreach Coordinator
Website: http://www.human.cornell.edu/bio.cfm?netid=jlw15
Contact: P: 607.255.2142 E: jlw15@cornell.edu
Bio Overview: Dr. Wilkins joined the Division of Nutritional Sciences in 1993. Her work focuses on how the food and agriculture system impacts public health, environmental sustainability, and community well-being. Degrees include: BS degree in 1978 from Huxley College of Environmental Studies, Western Washington University, MS degree in 1981 from Teachers College, Columbia University, Ph.D. in 1991 from Washington State University, in Nutrition and Consumer Economics, RD post-graduate dietetic residency at University of Washington Hospitals. Shortly after joining the Cornell faculty Jennifer conceptualized and developed the first regional food guide in the United States, the Northeast Regional Food Guide. This food guide promotes health, sustainability, and local food systems. She was one of eight people selected from a national pool of over 150 for Class IV of the Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellowship.
Arthur Lembo, Jr., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Geography and Geoscience
Salisbury University
Foodprints and Foodsheds Role: GIS activities and Internet Map Server Creation
Website: http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~ajlembo/
Bio Overview: Dr. Lembo joined the Salisbury faculty in 2007, after spending 7 years at Cornell University, where he won the Cornell University Faculty Innovation in Teaching Award, the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teacher of Merit, and the prestigious State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Previous to his time at Cornell University, Dr Lembo spent 10 years in private industry implementing large-scale geographic information systems for both the public and private sector, and was President of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing’s (ASPRS) Central New York Region (www.esf.edu/asprs). Throughout his career, Dr. Lembo has implemented some of the larger enterprise GIS projects within the country, and is a frequently invited speaker to a number of conferences and workshops focused on geographic information system technology.
Gary Fick, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Crop and Soil Sciences
Cornell University
Foodprints and Foodsheds Role: Principal Investigator at Cornell
Website: http://css.cals.cornell.edu/people/faculty.cfm?netId=gwf2
Bio Overview: Dr. Fick has studied the ecology and management of forage crops since he came to Cornell University. He has been especially interested in alfalfa and in methods of predicting alfalfa forage quality as the crop is growing in the field. In addition, he has been teaching three or four subjects each year related to forage crops, sustainable agriculture, and research methods. His present research includes the study of sustainable land allocations to support a balanced local food system. He is an academic advisor, having served over 180 undergraduate and 66 graduate student advisees, an author with over 315 scientific publications and abstracts, and an editor with service to 14 scientific journals.
Sonja Brodt, Ph.D.
Academic Coordinator, Agriculture Resources & Environment
Agricultural Sustainability Institute UC Davis
Foodprint & Foodshed Project Role: Life Cycle Assessment Team Leader
Website: http://asi.ucdavis.edu/about/staff/sbrodt
Bio Overview: Sonja Brodt, Ph.D. Academic Coordinator, University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis. Sonja Brodt has been researching agricultural and food systems sustainability in California since 1999, when she joined the University of California, Davis as a researcher. In 2009, she joined the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, where she coordinates research and outreach on current issues in Agriculture, Resources, and the Environment. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, a Master of Science in International Agricultural Development, and a Ph.D. in Geography. Dr. Brodt’s work currently spans several areas, including life cycle assessment of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in crop production and supply chains, assessment of research needs and outreach on nitrogen management in agriculture, and development of tools and frameworks for assessing sustainability in global food commodity sourcing. Earlier areas of focus included incentives and motivations for adoption of environmentally sustainable farming practices and certified organic production by farmers in California and India.
Gail Feenstra, Ph.D.
Academic Coordinator, Food & Society
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program/
Agricultural Sustainability Institute UC Davis
Foodprint & Foodshed Project Role: Collaborator with Dr. Sonja Brodt on the tomato life cycle assessment segment of the project.
Website: http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/
Bio Overview: Dr. Feenstra coordinates the food systems initiatives at the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). SAREP’s Food Systems Program encourages the development of regional food systems that link farmers, consumers and communities. Dr. Feenstra’s research and outreach includes: farm-to-school and farm-to-institution evaluation, regional food system distribution, values-based supply chains, food access/ food security for low-income populations, food system assessments and local food policy. Feenstra has a doctorate in nutrition education from Teachers College, Columbia University with an emphasis in public health.
