Ian Bailey

I arrived at Columbia College in 2000 with an interest in human-environment interactions, processes, and outcomes. While Columbia College provided an ideal geographic and ecological setting in which to pursue these interests, it proved to be intellectually rigorous and engaging as well. Paula’s and Ted’s ongoing academic mentorship provided an ideological and ethical framework upon which I have continued to build my education. After transferring from Columbia, I went on to the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) where I completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies and Sociology. While a student at UCSC, I spent six months in Agua Buena, Costa Rica researching and participating in various levels of the coffee commodity chain. My time living and working in Agua Buena formed the basis of my Honors Thesis in the Environmental Studies department at UCSC and contributed to the semi-restructuring of a small-scale farmer’s cooperative in Agua Buena. Upon returning from Costa Rica, I actively participated (in numerous capacities) in the Community Agroecology Network (CAN), a Santa Cruz-based organization working to establish direct trade markets between small-scale farmers and consumers. These interests were further developed as an intern with the Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First) in Oakland, CA, where I focused my research efforts on the capacity of alternative trade networks in restructuring global value chains and the ability of this restructuring to promote food sovereignty and equitable rural development. I am currently pursuing a PhD in Development Sociology at Cornell University where I plan to conduct research on the impacts of bio-fuels on food sovereignty.

UCSC Environmental Studies Department

UCSC Sociology Department

Community Agroecology Network (CAN)

Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First)

Cornell University Development Sociology Department

Grad Profile: Ian Bailey