I study climate justice from multiple angles through my research on economics and Mexican farming networks. In Mexico, the changing climate and industrialization are impacting the growing season and soil texture for crops, making it difficult for farmers to continue their livelihoods and for communities to get food as they did in the past. On the economics side, there are data gaps in how communities are more broadly represented. Data builds awareness and amplifies solutions, which is incredibly important in understanding and replicating the innovative types of alternative food networks that are allowing farmers to adapt their livelihoods around the effects of climate change.

Lean on other people who have done it before! They are usually happy to help you find your way and can teach you books worth of knowledge and wisdom in a single coffee outing. I’ve gotten some of my most valuable leadership advice from reaching out to people from conferences or on LinkedIn that I had never spoken to before.

I make a point to attend new events about sustainable development whenever I have time, because they connect me to new ideas and people who are thinking about issues differently than I am. There is only so much someone can learn from studying in school and reading the news, especially about sustainable development because it is so vast and nuanced. To learn outside your comfort zone you have to have discussions with people you disagree with, hearing ideas you aren’t familiar with, and constantly fact-checking yourself and those around you to understand why things might be the way they are and what you can do to change them.

No project is too small, and you just get better at managing them as you go, so don’t shy away from starting up!