Profile
Assistant Professor, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University
Senior Sustainability Scholar, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University
Chair Elect, Sociology of Development, American Sociological Association
International development and political economy
Fair trade and sustainable agriculture
Social inequality and social justice
Knowledge, ethics, and feminist praxis
I study the politics of sustainable development using methods that produce situated and actionable knowledge. Specifically, I investigate: (1) rural livelihoods, capacities, and identities; (2) sustainability standards and certifications; and (3) stakeholder participation in research and practice.
My work informs scholarship in three key ways. First, I address questions pertaining to certification and livelihood diversification by examining the entry of global certification systems into agricultural markets, their influence on rural livelihoods, and the provision of producer training and support. Second, I reunite social theory with empirical inquiry by engaging multi-paradigmatic frameworks for research and analysis. This strategy enables me to differentiate between sources of conflict and cohesion, and more broadly unpack the relationship between structure and agency. Third, I employ the principles of feminist praxis to uncover ethical issues related to epistemology and power, and improve methods for engagement.
In 2010, I worked with small-scale rooibos tea farmers in South Africa's Western Cape Province to co-develop a participatory research, training, and networking initiative. At that time, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork with a team of community-based farmer leaders, generating in-depth understanding of the issues facing producers in rural coloured (mixed race) areas, including challenges with Fairtrade and organic market access. Our engagement resulted in a ‘participatory commodity networking’ approach to Fairtrade producer support.
Apart from my research in South Africa, I have spent significant time in Latvia where I developed a nationally accredited teacher training program as a Peace Corps Volunteer then returned under a Fulbright grant to examine the impacts of European integration on Latvia's organic farming movement. More broadly, I have consulted on Fairtrade charcoal standards in Namibia, evaluated rural income generation activities in Northern Ghana, and helped launch UNESCO's global EDUCAIDS initiative to coordinate educational responses to HIV and AIDS.
My recent work focuses on the ethics of development, with three manuscripts under review or in progress. These article-length studies: (1) propose a common set of principles for planning, conducting, and evaluating diverse approaches to development research; (2) provide a meta-analysis of the ethical challenges facing action researchers who work in different development contexts; and (3) elucidate the contributions of subaltern feminist theories to development ethics.
In the near future, I will embark upon a comparative historical study that will form the basis of a book on the topic of transformative society. "Post-authoritarian Perspectives on Democracy and Sustainable Development" will engage the cases of post-Soviet Latvia and post-Apartheid South Africa to query the role of cultural worldviews in generating democratic social change, with particular focus on the indigenous value systems informing anti-authoritarian resistance movements, national transitions to democracy, and post-authoritarian sustainable development agendas. By shedding light on two societies that overthrew Soviet and Apartheid rule in a bid to secure a more socially and environmentally responsible future, this study will clarify the sociopolitical dimension of sustainable development, contributing to the literature on political rights, environmental ethics, and social change.
Assistant Professor, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University
Senior Sustainability Scholar, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University
Chair Elect, Sociology of Development, American Sociological Association
International development and political economy
Fair trade and sustainable agriculture
Social inequality and social justice
Knowledge, ethics, and feminist praxis
I study the politics of sustainable development using methods that produce situated and actionable knowledge. Specifically, I investigate: (1) rural livelihoods, capacities, and identities; (2) sustainability standards and certifications; and (3) stakeholder participation in research and practice.
My work informs scholarship in three key ways. First, I address questions pertaining to certification and livelihood diversification by examining the entry of global certification systems into agricultural markets, their influence on rural livelihoods, and the provision of producer training and support. Second, I reunite social theory with empirical inquiry by engaging multi-paradigmatic frameworks for research and analysis. This strategy enables me to differentiate between sources of conflict and cohesion, and more broadly unpack the relationship between structure and agency. Third, I employ the principles of feminist praxis to uncover ethical issues related to epistemology and power, and improve methods for engagement.
In 2010, I worked with small-scale rooibos tea farmers in South Africa's Western Cape Province to co-develop a participatory research, training, and networking initiative. At that time, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork with a team of community-based farmer leaders, generating in-depth understanding of the issues facing producers in rural coloured (mixed race) areas, including challenges with Fairtrade and organic market access. Our engagement resulted in a ‘participatory commodity networking’ approach to Fairtrade producer support.
Apart from my research in South Africa, I have spent significant time in Latvia where I developed a nationally accredited teacher training program as a Peace Corps Volunteer then returned under a Fulbright grant to examine the impacts of European integration on Latvia's organic farming movement. More broadly, I have consulted on Fairtrade charcoal standards in Namibia, evaluated rural income generation activities in Northern Ghana, and helped launch UNESCO's global EDUCAIDS initiative to coordinate educational responses to HIV and AIDS.
My recent work focuses on the ethics of development, with three manuscripts under review or in progress. These article-length studies: (1) propose a common set of principles for planning, conducting, and evaluating diverse approaches to development research; (2) provide a meta-analysis of the ethical challenges facing action researchers who work in different development contexts; and (3) elucidate the contributions of subaltern feminist theories to development ethics.
In the near future, I will embark upon a comparative historical study that will form the basis of a book on the topic of transformative society. "Post-authoritarian Perspectives on Democracy and Sustainable Development" will engage the cases of post-Soviet Latvia and post-Apartheid South Africa to query the role of cultural worldviews in generating democratic social change, with particular focus on the indigenous value systems informing anti-authoritarian resistance movements, national transitions to democracy, and post-authoritarian sustainable development agendas. By shedding light on two societies that overthrew Soviet and Apartheid rule in a bid to secure a more socially and environmentally responsible future, this study will clarify the sociopolitical dimension of sustainable development, contributing to the literature on political rights, environmental ethics, and social change.
Education
PhD, Sociology, Colorado State University
MA, International Development and Social Change, Clark University
BA, Anthropology and French, University of Utah
Languages
English, native
French, excellent
Latvian, very good speaking ability
Afrikaans, good speaking ability
Spanish, elementary communication skills
PhD, Sociology, Colorado State University
MA, International Development and Social Change, Clark University
BA, Anthropology and French, University of Utah
Languages
English, native
French, excellent
Latvian, very good speaking ability
Afrikaans, good speaking ability
Spanish, elementary communication skills
