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
Globalization, development, and environment
Social inequality and social change
Fair trade and sustainable agriculture
Decolonizing methodologies
I am interested in the political economy of sustainable development and the cultures and ethics of social change. With a background in sustainable agriculture and fair trade, I investigate questions pertaining to: (1) rural livelihoods and identities; (2) production standards and certifications; and (3) sustainability governance and participation. By examining power structures and relations at multiple levels of analysis, my work connects local experiences to regional and global forces, enabling me to unpack the relationship between structure and agency. I also employ methods that open spaces of radical openness where agrarian communities can share their expertise, voice their concerns, and collaborate with professionals to improve sustainability in practice.
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 research and producer support.
I also 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 current scholarship focuses on the ethics of development, with three article-length manuscripts in progress. The first of these connects the wide-ranging discourse on development ethics to propose a common set of principles for planning, conducting, and evaluating development research across disciplines. The second comprises an empirical analysis of the theory, methods, and ethics employed by participatory action researchers who are working on sustainable development. The third manuscript elucidates the contributions of subaltern feminist theories to global development ethics.
In the near future, I will embark upon a comparative historical study on the topic of transformative society. Engaging the cases of post-Soviet Latvia and post-Apartheid South Africa, this book-length project will 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. "Post-authoritarian Perspectives on Democracy and Sustainable Development" will advance understanding of the sociopolitical dimension of sustainability, 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
Globalization, development, and environment
Social inequality and social change
Fair trade and sustainable agriculture
Decolonizing methodologies
I am interested in the political economy of sustainable development and the cultures and ethics of social change. With a background in sustainable agriculture and fair trade, I investigate questions pertaining to: (1) rural livelihoods and identities; (2) production standards and certifications; and (3) sustainability governance and participation. By examining power structures and relations at multiple levels of analysis, my work connects local experiences to regional and global forces, enabling me to unpack the relationship between structure and agency. I also employ methods that open spaces of radical openness where agrarian communities can share their expertise, voice their concerns, and collaborate with professionals to improve sustainability in practice.
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 research and producer support.
I also 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 current scholarship focuses on the ethics of development, with three article-length manuscripts in progress. The first of these connects the wide-ranging discourse on development ethics to propose a common set of principles for planning, conducting, and evaluating development research across disciplines. The second comprises an empirical analysis of the theory, methods, and ethics employed by participatory action researchers who are working on sustainable development. The third manuscript elucidates the contributions of subaltern feminist theories to global development ethics.
In the near future, I will embark upon a comparative historical study on the topic of transformative society. Engaging the cases of post-Soviet Latvia and post-Apartheid South Africa, this book-length project will 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. "Post-authoritarian Perspectives on Democracy and Sustainable Development" will advance understanding of the sociopolitical dimension of sustainability, 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
