Dr. Maryann Tebben is a Professor of French and director of the Center for Food Studies at Bard College at Simon's Rock. Since 2014, she has chaired seven interdisciplinary ThinkFOOD conferences at Simon’s Rock, bringing together scholars, activists, and community members from across Massachusetts and the Northeast. Her research examines the relationship of food culture to national identity in France and Italy and her publications include three books on food history: Sauces: A Global History (2014), Savoir-Faire: A History of French Food (2020), and Food Cultures of France (2021). She has also published articles on the naming of Italian pasta sauces, the evolution of dessert in French gastronomy, and the figure of the female cook in Maryse Condé’s writing. She teaches courses on French language and literature and Food Studies at Simon’s Rock. You can contact her at mtebben@simons-rock.edu

Dr. Chi-I Lin is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Humanities and Social Science in the Center for General Education of National Sun Yat-sen University. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. In 2020, she received the NSYSU Superior teaching award and has been a three-time recipient of the NSYSU Research achievement award. She serves as the Associate Editor for the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education and is the Regional Coordinator for the OSUN initiative Solve Climate by 2030. She is also a member of the Ocean Affairs Council of Taiwan. Her research interests include education for sustainable development, interdisciplinary learning, Shakespearean studies, and visual methodologies. You can contact her at chiilin@mail.nsysu.edu.tw

Guntra Aistara is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy at the Central European University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment. She is an environmental anthropologist whose research lies at the intersection of political ecology, food sovereignty, and environmental justice. Her research interests include organic agriculture movements, agrobiodiversity, and seed sovereignty, agroecology, permaculture, culinary heritage revivals, multi-species ethnography, and socio-ecological resilience of local food systems.

Her book Organic Sovereignties: Struggles over Farming in an Age of Free Trade (University of Washington Press, 2018) explores how organic agriculture movements in Latvia and Costa Rica have negotiated entry into free trade regions. She is also co-editor and contributing author in the book The Ecolaboratory: Environmental Governance and Economic Development in Costa Rica. You can contact her at aistaraG@ceu.edu

Dr. Cynthia Brown is passionate about student success in and out of the classroom setting. She received her doctorate in Urban Forestry from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA. Dr. Brown's research focus is on a tailored integrated approach to studying the therapeutic impacts of urban greening using meta-analysis techniques. Her research topic is Utilization of Meta-Analysis Techniques: Cases of Urban Greening & Its Influence on Youth Behavior. She also received her Master of Science in Urban Forestry, Master of Science in Criminal Justice, and Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Southern University A&M College. Dr. Brown is currently the Science Professor at Bard College. She has taught the following courses, Environment Science, Earth Science, Sustainable Foodways, and Intro to Criminal Justice at Bard College New Orleans. She believes that we are all lifelong learners and enjoys research.

cbrown@bec.bard.edu