Bio

Sophia is the Executive Director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She came to IRES to do a PhD with Dr. Hannah Wittman. In her research, she developed a new framework for assessing public food security policies from the perspective of adaptive governance. She calls her framework resilient global food security. She has 30 years of professional experience as a policy expert and advocate, focused on resilient food systems, agriculture and international trade. Sophia has worked primarily with civil society organizations, but also has also worked with governments, intergovernmental organizations and universities.

Last updated January 2022

Bio

Harold is currently a Gund Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Vermont, where he works with Rachelle Gould and Brian Beckage. He is studying relationships between birds, trees, and people in cities. In Summer 2021, Harold completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia with Dr. Kai Chan. Before coming to UBC, he received a BA from Harvard University in Environmental Science and Public Policy.

Last updated September 2022

Bio

Dr. Sameer Shah (he / him) is a John C. Garcia Professor and Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation in the School of Environmental & Forest Sciences (SEFS) at the University of Washington. He is also an Affiliate with the UW Center for Studies in Demography in Ecology, Center for Environmental Politics, and Clean Energy Institute. Dr. Shah holds expertise in the human dimensions of climate change vulnerability and adaptation. He aims to understand how systemic marginalization, and climate-related change and disasters interact to create and amplify uneven water, food, and energy insecurities for communities on the frontlines of climate change. In particular, his research develops theoretical, conceptual, and empirical analyses of the equity, justice, and sustainability outcomes of climate adaptation and disaster response at multiple scales. Through research in South/Southeast Asia, the contiguous U.S., and Puerto Rico, he and his collaborators seek to advance interventions that reduce the disproportionately larger climate risks experienced by marginalized groups, and to shape long-term policy strategies that transform the underlying systems that heighten these impacts. At SEFS, Dr. Shah directs the WATERS Research Collaborative (Water, Adaptation & Transformation: Equity, Resilience and Sustainability). He is also a co-founder of the SOLVER (Social Vulnerability and Resilience) Research Laboratory.

Current research

Publications

Last updated September 2023

Featured Publications

Beyond Local Case Studies in Political Ecology: Spatializing Agricultural Water Infrastructure in Maharashtra Using a Critical, Multimethods, and Multiscalar Approach (Annals of the American Association of Geographers)

How do farmers adapt to agricultural risks in northern India? An agent-based exploration of alternate theories of decision-making (Journal of Environmental Management)

A “drought-free” Maharashtra? Politicising water conservation for rain-dependent agriculture (Water Alternatives)