Annika majored in Environmental Studies with minors in Sustainability, Sociology, and Sustainable Food Systems. Annika began working as a research assistant during Summer 2023 and has worked on the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Laudato Si Project advancing bold proposals for environmental justice and sustainability across 28 institutions of higher learning. She helped to compile data on Scope 1,2, and 3 emissions and climate action goals from the AJCU institutions. After researching the Laudato Si action plan here at SCU in her ENVS 111 class last fall, Annika was excited to get more involved. Annika is also passionate about advancing sustainable initiatives on campus, which she got to dive deeper into during the Sustainable Living Undergraduate Research Project (SLURP) internship at SCU last Winter and Spring quarters.  

Jules, class of 2024, started as a Research Assistant in September 2022. Her work includes helping design and conduct the survey on the project with Sacred Heart Community Service on Transforming Food Waste, rolling the student food security and sovereignty assessment on campus, and contributing to the data analysis of the NSF-funded project in Nicaragua. She is motivated to do this work from her experience volunteering at the local garden and teaching/living on a food-secure campus abroad in The Bahamas, Jules has a strong desire to expand her knowledge on food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture. She is very passionate about addressing food waste and believes that it is one of the most pressing climate change issues.

Katie majors in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations and minors in Public Health Science and Sustainable Food Systems. Passionate about the intersection between health policy and food security, Katie initially joined the lab in January 2023 as an Ignatian Center Fellow. She worked with the team on the Student Food Security and Basic Needs projects and the AJCU Laudato Si Project advancing bold proposals for environmental justice and sustainability across 28 institutions of higher learning. Through her work with the ACRAF Lab, Katie contributed by conducting surveys, analyzing survey data using Excel and RStudio, as well as writing reports and disseminating data. Outside of the lab, Katie serves as a Senior Class Senator and chair of the University Enhancements Operations Committee in the SCU Associated Student Government, as well as a Miller Center Fellow which granted her the opportunity to pursue food security work in Zambia during the summer of 2023. 

Kimber is pursuing a double major in political science and dance, and she joined the team in the summer of 2022. With a passion for social justice and equality, as well as experience in student government and the tUrn Climate Action and Awareness Project, Kimber’s work focuses upon concerns of food insecurity at Santa Clara University while integrating her knowledge of sustainable lifestyles and environmentally-conscious food systems. Through compiling and analyzing data, conducting interviews and formal research, as well as organizing youth climate action and communication resources, her efforts centralize on quantitative and qualitative research and the implications of such findings. Kimber will be researching how Santa Clara University can best respond to the prevalence of food insecurity on campus and how to support students who are facing such health concerns. 

Paulina, class of 2024, joined the Food Justice Lab in Fall 2023 as an Environmental Studies and Ethnic Studies double major, with a Women and Gender Studies minor. She had a passion for environmental justice and community-based research and was excited to apply it to her work at the lab. She supported the team through her on the Learning Resilience (NSF) project and the Sacred Heart Community Services and La Mesa Verde collaborative project. Her work included designing and conducting surveys in English and Spanish, designing and facilitating focus groups and workshops, analyzing qualitative data, and quantitative analysis using R and Excel. On campus, Paulina was involved in the Multicultural Center as the co-chair for the Undocumented Students and Allies Association and was a proud member of the LEAD Scholars community. 

Tatum, class of 2024, was an Environmental Science major and a Biology minor. She began working as a research assistant with the lab in the fall of 2023 on the Student Food Security and Basic Needs project and the Learning Resilience (NSF) project. Her research contributions focused on analyzing quantitative data using R Studio and Excel.  She also conducted interviews, wrote reports, and designed communications.  Tatum was selected as the 2023-’24 Environmental Ethics Fellow at the Markkula Center, studying the ethics of the Pajaro Valley levee failure, and she is passionate about advocating for environmental justice issues on campus and in the surrounding communities.

Paola joined Chris Bacon’s research team as a Research Assistant in Winter 2021. Due to her lived experience of food injustice in Latin America and in California’s Central Valley, Paola is passionate about sustainable food systems and social equity. She believes that threats to food security are one of the most pressing climate change risks. Her work consists of editing research papers, collaborating on survey design and analysis, and using her Spanish fluency for writing and communicating with research members and participants in San Jose, CA and Nicaragua. She is currently part of the team conducting a campus-wide participatory assessment of student food insecurity and food justice possibilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic at Santa Clara University. Paola is also involved in sustainability work through tUrn: Climate Action and Awareness and SCU’s Associated Student Government.

Brooke joined the team in Winter 2021 as a CBPR for Racial Justice Fellow through the College of Arts and Sciences. She started working on the Farm Fresh Food Relief project, conducting a multimedia content analysis and creating dissemination materials. She is also involved in the research with Sacred Heart Community Services and La Mesa Verde, using her background in qualitative methods to analyze interviews and survey responses. Under the NSF grant, she will be conducting research and creating the website for the Agroecology, Climate Resilience, and Food Justice (ACRAF) Lab. An Environmental Studies and Sociology double major, Brooke has focused her research on environmental justice and sustainable development while at SCU. She is a Miller Center Fellow with Kenyan social enterprise Eggpreneur, an Environmental Ethics Fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, and assists Dr. Molly King in the Sociology department with climate justice research and grant writing. Brooke is passionate about forging sustainable solutions and pursuing justice for both the planet and its people. 

Kylie has worked alongside Chris and the team as a research assistant since Spring 2021. She has since assisted the progress of projects on small-holder coffee farm diversification in Nicaragua and the USDA funded Farm Fresh Food Relief Program with a particular emphasis on the food hubs involved. Kylie has been especially immersed in the latter project through an assessment of the scope and beneficiaries of the FFFR program from the months of May to September of 2020. Sourced out of a childhood love for the environment and guided by work with food assistance programs and pivotal courses on food systems, Kylie’s interests have grown into a passion for transformative and sustainable food systems. Kylie is dedicated to further developing her knowledge on the importance of using agroecology and food sovereignty as tools for creating a more just, fed, and resilient world.  

Ava is part of the team conducting a study in collaboration with the La Mesa Verde program and Food Pantry at Sacred Heart Community Services. She conducts interviews and analyzes members’ responses. This project aims to increase collaboration between La Mesa Verde and the Food Pantry, while engaging broader scientific questions about developing a food and racial justice approach to emergency food assistance and decreasing food waste. As part of her work on this team, Ava is also collaborating to develop a CalEPA Environmental Justice grant proposal with Sacred Heart Community Services. The proposed project utilizes a food justice approach to increase community knowledge, build from existing strength, and foster resilience, while simultaneously increasing collaboration between parties and throughout the South Bay. 

Oliveya joined the team as a Research Assistant in Spring 2021 and is supported by a CAS’s REAL Fellowship for the Summer of 2021. She is currently working alongside Chris and the team to assess student food insecurity on campus. Using a community based participatory action research model, she and the team hope to assess the impact of COVID-19 and propose possible solutions to improve food justice on campus. As an Environmental studies and Ethnic studies double major, Oliveya is passionate about environmental justice and is dedicated to furthering her understanding of how we can create food systems that center food justice and food sovereignty. 

Ben is a Research and Programs Student Assistant at the Center for Food, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Through his experiences volunteering at local food banks and learning about food systems in classes, Ben has a strong desire to expand his knowledge of food production, food sovereignty, and sustainable agriculture. Ben believes that food security is an essential component of maintaining not only strong physical health, but also strong mental and emotional health. He is currently a part of the team conducting a campus-wide participatory assessment of student food insecurity and food justice possibilities under COVID-19 at Santa Clara University. As a recent graduate, Ben is currently working as a Strike Team Strategy intern for the World WIldlife Fund, helping the organization expand their conservation efforts. After the internship ends, Ben will be working full-time with Environment California as a Global Warming Campaign Associate. 

Derek Hsu is a rising senior at Saratoga High School and joined Chris Bacon’s research team in Summer 2021. He is involved in student Leadership at Saratoga, serving as next year’s Associated Student Body President. His passion is understanding the complex relationship of humans and the environment, joining Anna Eshoo’s Student Advisory Board to advocate for climate literacy. This work currently analyzes the diverse network of farms within Northern California and the effects of COVID-19 in food security. 

Emma worked alongside Paige Whittaker to conduct an analysis of and develop recommendations for improving SCU’s campus food procurement. This was the first analysis at SCU that included both the ethical/sustainability goals of the Real Food Challenge and an evaluation of carbon and nitrogen emissions from SCU’s food consumption. As Jean Donovan Fellow with the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Emma served as an intern at La Mesa Verde, a non-profit organization at Sacred Heart Community Services dedicated to increasing food access and food justice in San José, CA through agroecology and urban gardening. Emma is also co-authoring an article with Bacon and Paige on campus food systems and helping with a study of small-holder coffee farm diversification in Nicaragua. More recently, Emma has engaged in a collaborative effort between La Mesa Verde and the Food Pantry at Sacred Heart Community Services to increase aspects of food justice, food access, and waste reduction. Emma graduated in June 2021 with a B.S. in Bioengineering and is continuing to study Ecological Engineering and Sustainable Agriculture in a graduate program at Oregon State University. 

 Paige Whittaker graduated in December 2020 with an Integrative Biology major. She joined Bacon’s Food Justice research team in 2019, and worked alongside the Center for Sustainability and the Real Food Challenge to conduct an analysis and develop recommendations for improving SCU’s food purchasing practices. She is currently co-authoring an article drawing on the Real Food Challenge analysis, and helping design a study of Bay Area food justice organizations’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.