Dr. Hannah Wittman
Dr. Hannah Wittman’s research examines the ways that the rights to produce and consume food are contested and transformed through struggles for agrarian reform, food sovereignty, and agrarian citizenship. Her projects include community-based research on farmland access, transition to organic agriculture, and seed sovereignty in British Columbia, agroecological transition and the role of institutional procurement in the transition to food sovereignty in Ecuador and Brazil, and the role that urban agriculture and farm-to-school nutrition initiatives play in food literacy education.
Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability Profile
Faculty of Land and Food Systems Profile
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=JxF8aw0AAAAJ&hl=en
Carolina Diaz
Research Lab Coordinator
Carolina is a UBC Alumni, Canadian-Ecuadorian polyglot, interested in environmental politics and ecosystem services management, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity, land-based education and youth. She joined the CSFS in 2024, managing Professor Hannah Wittman’s Lab. A Latin American woman, having worked in Ecuador, Vancouver, and Uganda, she specializes in team management, individual empowerment and facilitating cross-cultural communication. She applies these skills in Professor Hannah’s three international projects, including the LiteFarm App. She is an avid reader and writer keen on life-long learning and skills improvement. She dreams of a world where humanity and the planet live in harmony and balance, and where all peoples enjoy the same opportunities and share knowledge
Momodou Barry
MSc Student
Barry is an MSc student at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES) under the guidance of Dr. Hannah Wittman. His research focus is on understanding and mitigating food insecurity in developing countries. With an MBA in his educational arsenal, Barry is also the CEO and founder of the non-profit organization “Citizens of Earth,” headquartered in Taiwan. In 2019, he received a service award from the Minister of Education in Himachal Pradesh, making him the first African to achieve this recognition. Barry’s extensive global experience includes visiting 28 countries, reflecting his diverse perspective on food insecurity issues.
He passionately believes that addressing food insecurity is both a moral imperative and a basic human right. His approach centers on principles such as equality, sustainability, education, collaboration, empathy, advocacy, and community engagement. Barry’s philosophy underscores the absurdity of millions going to bed hungry in a world of plenty, emphasizing our collective responsibility to ensure a hunger-free world. Beyond his academic and non-profit endeavors, Barry enjoys travel, swimming, and scuba diving.
In summary, Barry is a dedicated and accomplished individual with a strong commitment to tackling food insecurity globally, leveraging his academic pursuits, non-profit leadership, and extensive international experiences to promote a more equitable and sustainable world with food security for all.
Evan Eskilson
PhD student
Evan is a PhD student at IRES under the supervision of Dr. Hannah Wittman. His research is focused on the trade-offs associated with high levels of specialization within farming systems. In particular, he is interested in exploring how crop diversification and other farm-level agroecological practices can increase farmer control over decision making, allowing farmers to become more sustainable, profitable, and culturally representative. More broadly, he hopes to influence how people think about specialization, and encourage individuals to pursue more diverse areas and types of knowledge, as well as experiences so they may better address complex problems. Evan is from Lawrence, Kansas and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to study his bachelor’s in economics at the University of Cincinnati. After graduating in 2022, he began a masters in Global Political Economy at Stockholm University, writing his masters thesis on changes in crop diversity in Swedish agriculture in response to changes in extreme weather. Throughout his education he has worked in a variety of companies and NGOs including the Exponential Roadmap Initiative where he developed guidance for corporate climate transition planning.
Yoshinori Tanaka
MSc Student
Yoshi has been keen to learn deeply about the connection to his ancestral roots and culture in an old village in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. He has been studying socio-ecological issues that the village is facing due to modernization. He is particularly interested in reawakening the abandoned traditional coppicing and charcoal making process, which was the occupation of his late grandfather and the ancestors before him. He has been chasing the traces in the forest, such as coppiced trees, Japanese red pine snags, and the hand-built kiln. He has also been asking the elders what they remember of his grandfather practicing before the fossil fuel revolution. He believes that coppicing and charcoal making has been the heart of ecosystem maintenance, and reintroducing these practices will contribute to revitalization of the culture and forest of his village and regional ecosystem health that is connected and spread downstream.
A month-long visit to Masset, Haida Gwaii inspired him to look into the ancient connection between Japan and northern Haida Gwaii, intended and accidental cultural exchange of the seafarer peoples – expanding his mind from his personal roots to the Pacific Rim cultural connection.
Valerie Zimmermann
MA Student
Valerie is an M.A. student with the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia, studying and working under the supervision of Dr. Hannah Wittman. Valerie’s research seeks to understand how organic vegetable farmers in British Columbia make decisions about cover cropping and how the government and farming industry can best support BC farmers to adapt climate-resilient farming practices.
Valerie completed her B.A. in Environmental Governance at the University of Guelph. She grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Northern Ontario as an uninvited visitor on the traditional territories of the Anishnaabeg peoples and the Robinson-Huron Treaty. The beauty of her hometown and her close connection to nature inspired her to pursue a career in environmental policy and protection.
Wall Scholars profile: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/zimmermann-valerie
Contact email: vzimm1@student.ubc.ca
Carina Isbell
PhD Student
Carina Isbell is a PhD student at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) under the supervision of Dr. Hannah Wittman. Carina is a social scientist deeply invested in agri-food system sustainability and equity, with her research focusing specifically on how alternative food movements (e.g., organic, regenerative, and agroecology) interact with one another and the dominant industrial system to make positive social and environmental change. Before joining Hannah’s lab, Carina worked for a national non-profit in the United States on a research project which sought to outline how to improve the quality and accessibility of conservation technical assistance for farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners. Before that, she obtained her master’s degree in Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont, where her research encompassed diverse subject areas including agrobiodiversity conservation, food justice, farmer-led seed sharing and saving networks, and rural community development. She also had the opportunity to spend a year in Montevideo, Uruguay, studying the urban agroecology movement as funded by a Fulbright grant. Through these experiences and others, Carina has enjoyed learning from the experiences of those working to enact direct change on the ground and in policy. At IRES, she aspires to continue supporting efforts that advance a more resilient and just agri-food future.
Annika Levaggi
MA Student
Annika is a masters student at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES) working under the guidance of Dr. Hannah Wittman. Her research focuses at the intersection of food sovereignty, alternative education, and rural livelihoods. Originally from Northern California, Annika now calls Chilean Patagonia home where her research is largely based.
Previously, Annika earned her BSc in Environmental Science and Food Systems at the University of California, Berkeley and was a Fulbright scholar at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s Center for Local Development. Annika continues to collaborate as a research affiliate of the ECOS Lab in Southern Chile, where she previously worked on a community based participatory research project integrating traditional ecological knowledge and foraging practices into forest management.
Annika is also an avid climber and skier, and shares her love for the mountains as a NOLS instructor.