Small goats and small batch cheesemaking on a small farm, all with big laughs.

I just finished the book Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and in so many ways, it was the perfect book to read at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018. One of the main characters is Nigerian, and spends a good chunk of time in the U.S. before she returns to her home country.… Read more

There’s a word in Mexican Spanish, güera, which is frequently used to address light skinned women like myself. I literally hear it everywhere—at the market, ¿Güera, qué vas a llevar?; at the corner taco stand, ¿Qué más güerita?; when I pay my bills at the convenience store, ¿Güera, todo bien?—all of which more or less… Read more

Sometimes I love my job, but sometimes it frustrates me. Not just because science is fucking hard, but because every scientist is subject to a series of outside pressures; pressure to be the best, pressure to do it all, pressure to forget that you like doing anything other than your research… While many of these… Read more
I went to a conference last week, the World Food Prize, which had a strong theme regarding #WomeninSTEM, and encouraging young students to enter agricultural development. However, I really struggle with that dialogue sometimes, as typically the people discussing those topics are older, very successful, and only talk about the highlights of their careers. As… Read more

Lately, there has been a great deal of coverage on pollinator health in the media, and the need for conservation of bees in particular. Obviously, as a conservationist and an interdisciplinary agricultural professional, I am strongly in support of conserving any species, especially those with huge economic impacts in agriculture, like the pollinators. However, I… Read more

You know, the #distractinglysexy thing is obnoxious, and super lame and all this other business that we already know. There are people who will judge women in every career, be it science or otherwise, and it is frustrating. But, this is not new, and it will probably continue for some time. We know this is… Read more