Resume

• 2020

  Professional Certificate in Institutional Effectiveness and Program Evaluation

  SUNY Center for Professional Development

• 2010

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

  Speech Communication and Rhetoric

  University of Utah

• 2007

  Master's degree

  Communication and Media Studies

  University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences

  Higher Education Teaching Certificate

  University of Utah

• 2003

  Bachelor of Arts - BA

  Mass Communication/Media Studies

  University of North Carolina at Greensboro

• I oversee the management of SNAP/EBT for a local farmers market in partnership with the Farmers Market Federation of New York. I facilitate all necessary onboarding and training of market vendors selling SNAP-eligible food items.

  New Paltz Open Air Market

  Board Member & Food Justice Advocate

  I provide technical assistance on grant proposals

  development and fundraising strategy

  and ongoing engagement with community partners. In addition

  I provide logistical support to the community supported agriculture (CSA) program. Leveraging a community partnership

  I have arranged a second CSA share pick-up location more accessible to those utilizing public transportation.

  Phillies Bridge Farm Project

  Policy Analysis

  Editing

  Higher Education

  Lecturing

  Training Facilitation

  Teacher Training

  Curriculum Development

  Statistics

  Writing

  Curriculum Design

  Student Affairs

  College Teaching

  Program Development

  Qualitative Research

  University Teaching

  Student Development

  Teaching

  Research

  The Role of Scientific Source Credibility and Goodwill in Public Skepticism Toward GM Foods

  The complex web of political-economic relations that constitutes biotechnology coupled with a contentious history of public resistance

  illustrates the power of perceptions of credibility in mediating individuals’ judgements about GMOs. To more accurately measure what contributes to public skepticism of GM foods

  the present research applies a multidimensional model of source credibility comprised of scientific understanding

  integrity

  agreement

  concern

  trust

  and goodwill (bias). Testing the Anti-Reflexivity Thesis in a new context

  we also explore the role of attitudes about science and economic innovation by analyzing associations between political ideology and beliefs about the potential impacts of GM foods. Using data from the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel

  we find evidence of politically polarized perceptions of GM scientists’ credibility and public beliefs about the environmental risks and benefits of GM foods. Results suggest that political ideology is indirectly associated with beliefs about GM impacts on the food supply

  largely through perceptions of goodwill

  the so-called “lost” dimension of source credibility. Because demand for biotechnology products like gene edited foods is expected to increase

  consumer beliefs about GMOs will likely have significant implications for the future of the bioeconomy.

  The Role of Scientific Source Credibility and Goodwill in Public Skepticism Toward GM Foods

  Breaking Boundaries analyzes efforts made by communities and policy makers around the world to push beyond conventional approaches to environmental decision making to enhance public acceptance

  sustainability

  and the impact of those decisions in local contexts. The current political climate has generated uncertainty among citizens

  industry interests

  scientists

  and other stakeholders

  but by applying concepts from various perspectives of environmental communication and deliberative democracy

  this book offers a series of lessons learned for both public officials and concerned citizens. The contributors offer a broader understanding of how individuals and groups can get involved effectively in environmental decisions through traditional formats as well as alternative approaches ranging from leadership capacity building to social media activity to civic technology.

  Breaking Boundaries Innovative Practices in Environmental Communication and Public Participation

  Food ecologies and economies are vital to the survival of communities

  non-human species

  and our planet. While environmental communication scholars have legitimated food as a topic of inquiry

  the entangled ecological

  cultural

  economic

  racial

  colonial

  and alimentary relations that sustain food systems demand greater attention. In this essay

  we review literature within and beyond environmental communication

  charting the landscape of critical food work in our field. We then illustrate how environmental justice commitments can invigorate interdisciplinary food systems-focused communication scholarship articulating issues of

  and critical responses to

  injustice and inequity across the food chain. We stake an agenda for food systems communication by mapping three orientations—food system reform

  justice

  and sovereignty—that can assist in our critical engagements with and interventions into the food system. Ultimately

  we entreat environmental communication scholars to attend to the bends

  textures

  and confluences of these orientations so that we may deepen our future food-related inquiries.

  Reform

  Justice

  and Sovereignty: A Food Systems Agenda for Environmental Communication

  This research brief reports preliminary findings related to the SNAP Challenge (SC)

  an anti-hunger initiative in which participants purchase their household groceries using the average food stamp budget benefit for one week. By simulating a SNAP budget

  SC participants encounter food insecurity directly

  recognizing how the food they are able to consume connects to income

  nutrition needs

  and other factors that contribute to quality of life

  all of which can be considered capabilities of food security. Linking the experience of food hardship to conditions of poverty can address not only immediate food needs but also the interconnected material opportunities and disparities that constitute food (in)security. In this way

  I suggest

  a capability approach to food security can better align anti-hunger advocacy and food system policy. This initial study supports ongoing research related to anti-hunger advocacy communication

  food security discourse

  and capability-based approaches to food system reform.

  The SNAP Challenge: Communicating Food Security Capabilities through Anti-Hunger Advocacy

  This forum brings together food

  (in)security

  and communication. The authors participating in this forum center communication as both process and tool for understanding

  mitigating

  and making meaning of food (in)security. The nine authors together discuss the role of communication in food (in)security

  the central challenges for scholars and practitioners working on food (in)security

  and the creative possibilities and impacts influencing the future of food (in)security. The forum produces a call for applied scholars to re-imagine communication frameworks in order to make meaningful differences in their communities.

  Food (in)security communication: a Journal of Applied Communication Research forum addressing current challenges and future possibilities

  Kathleen

  University of Utah Dining Services

  SUNY New Paltz

  Iowa State University

  University of Utah

  Salt Lake County

  Utah

  United States

  As a graduate student

  I taught 2 undergraduate courses per semester and conducted original research for peer-review. I also provided technical assistance by peer-reviewing journal and national conference submissions

  as well as freelance copy-editing.

  Graduate Assistant/Instructor

  University of Utah

  Salt Lake City

  Utah

  United States

  In this capacity

  I developed and implemented a campus composting program that diverted food waste from all campus cafeterias to the student-run garden. I chaired the committee to organize a monthly lunch-and-learn series for which nationally recognized food movement speakers

  including Eric Holt-Giminez (Food First) and Saru Jayaraman (ROC United) were hosted. I helped manage the campus farmers market

  vetting vendors

  coordinating SNAP and Double-Up Food Bucks

  and piloting a veggie valet that allowed students to purchase and store produce while at school. I also coordinated the Real Food Challenge

  supervising an undergraduate student intern to conduct a comprehensive audit of sustainable food options across the campus; results of this work shifted Chartwell’s food purchasing toward less-processed and locally produced items.

  Sustainability Coordinator

  University of Utah Dining Services

  Ames

  Iowa

  United States

  My first post-graduate faculty position in the the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

  I held an appointment in the Department of Agricultural Education & Studies with a dual affiliation in the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture. In this role I taught courses in 2 academic programs

  Agricultural Communication and the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture

  collaborating on curriculum development and administration for both programs. I also partnered on science communication and community food systems research

  and public outreach. I conducted program evaluation in collaboration with the SNAP Education and Master Gardener Cooperative Extension programs.

  Assistant Professor

  Iowa State University

  New Paltz

  New York

  United States

  I conduct research and teach college level courses on topics related to persuasion

  advocacy

  and environmental justice. A major aspect of my work has been developing and implementing research projects and curriculum

  which requires setting objectives

  creating workplans

  and evaluating results.

  SUNY New Paltz