Our Team

Timothy Bowles is an Associate Professor of Agroecology and Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. His research focuses on how increasing reliance on biodiversity can create productive, healthy and resilient agricultural systems, drawing on agroecology, soil ecology, and biogeochemistry.

Susana Matias is a Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology. Her research concentrates on food security, as well as obesity and diabetes prevention, through nutrition education and behavioral change interventions. Dr. Matias’ research is particularly focused on women, children, and immigrant and farmworker populations.

Isabel Madzorera is an Assistant Professor in Food, Nutrition and Population Health in the division of Community Health Sciences. Her research is in global nutrition and in understanding the determinants of poor maternal and child nutrition outcomes in low- and middle-income country settings.

Charisma Acey is an Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning and a member of our Executive Committee. Her work focuses on local and regional environmental sustainability, with special attention to poverty reduction, urban governance, connections between food justice and environmental justice, urban agroecology, and access to basic services.

ab is a healer and a farmer. They graduated from UC Berkeley in 2016. They’re a deep advocate for complete self sustainability. Born in Oakland, they embody the heart of the Black Panthers and serve as a part of the central committee for People’s Programs, an organization in West Oakland that serves the people through a host of programming. They care about creating sovereignty from an intersectional stand point, pushing folks that are last to go first and letting love lead the way.

Federico Castillo is an Environmental/Agricultural Economist with PhD and undergraduate degrees from UC Berkeley. Federico’s research centers technology transfer and innovation, economic valuation, socio-economic impacts of climate change, and the economic aspects of protected areas and migration. He contributes in developing a research agenda on climate change, agriculture and population issues in Berkeley. He is also engaged in research with scholars from The Tropical Agricultural Research Center (CATIE), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) and UC Davis in projects over ecosystem based adaptation to climate change, the socio economic impact of weather extremes in California agriculture and climate change impacts on migration from Mexico to the US. He has taught courses related to migration to the United States, natural resource economics, and economics of climate change and sustainable business practices.

Scott Chang-Fleeman is a UC Santa Cruz Environmental Studies alum, vegetable farmer, and Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology alum. His farm, Shao Shan Farm, specializes in growing certified organic Asian vegetables for Bay Area AAPI chefs, grocers, and farmers markets. As a member of the farmer collaborative Second Generation Seeds, he also grows, saves, and distributes rare and climate adapted varieties of Asian vegetables. Prior to BFI, he worked at the Claremont Colleges managing operations, finances, education, and undergraduate employment at their educational farm and food waste recovery program. Outside of work, he volunteers time lobbying for increased resources for farmers of color and leads educational and cultural events around food, farming, and seed sovereignty for various community groups.

Steven is a veteran of the environmental justice and climate nonprofit sectors. He has led numerous high-impact campaigns and scaled up the communications programs at various nonprofits.

His communications experience is supported by a strong academic foundation. Steven received his master’s degree in communications from San Francisco State University. He subsequently taught communications theory at the same institution where his curriculum focused on small group communication, rhetoric and public speaking. Prior to BFI, Steven served in the climate philanthropy field at ClimateWorks Foundation. At ClimateWorks Steven led strategic communications for their Climate Diplomacy, Industry, Maritime Shipping and Sustainable Finance programs.

Jeanne Merrill is the Executive Director of the Berkeley Food Institute. She has more than 25 years of experience in food systems advocacy, policy analysis and development, and nonprofit leadership. She is a co-founder and former Policy Director with the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN). She has held several state and federal appointments, most recently to the U.S. EPA’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee. Ms. Merrill holds a B.A. in political science from U.C. San Diego and an M.Sc. in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She began her career in community organizing, where she partnered with communities in California impacted by pesticides to win local and state protections. Her greatest passion lies in empowering people with the tools needed to affect democratic change and work together to achieve resilient and equitable food and farm systems.

Jezra Thompson is a food systems planner with over fifteen years of experience developing sustainable programs for healthy schools, environments, and communities; with ten years leading public education programs, creating curriculum, building and strengthening partnerships, and implementing instructional design initiatives and professional development. She has a master’s in urban planning from Columbia University and began her career at the Food and Nutrition Service, USDA as a Policy Analyst, where she participated in community food systems and healthy food access initiatives, such as Know Your Farmer Know Your Food and Peoples’ Garden, and was a lead author of the SNAP EBT How-to Handbook for market managers accepting nutrition assistance benefits during the food stamp transition. Before coming to BFI, she supported nonprofits advocating for healthy food access resources and policy, such as leading efforts in branding the California Farmers Market Market Match program and participating in national research projects on the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx). In addition to work, Jezra enjoys road biking, trail running, paddle boarding, and getting into nature as much as possible.

Neha Sanghera’s professional background spans water resources, local government, and food systems. Neha joins BFI after completing her Master’s in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In graduate school, Neha was a clinical student at the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, where she collaborated with the Zero Food Waste Coalition to address food loss and waste. She also worked with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on her capstone project, which examined state-level adoption and implementation of the Federal Food Service Guidelines. In addition, Neha completed a summer project with the Center for Good Food Purchasing to advance supplier diversification within the Good Food Purchasing Program. Neha has previously served board appointments with the Oregon Commission on Asian and Public Islander Affairs and the International Network for Asian Public Administrators. Neha holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University and a B.S. in Hydrology from UC Santa Barbara.