Sarah Sarfaty Epstein is an M.S. student in the Energy and Resources Group interested in researching large scale projects in California’s agriculture sector to understand the practical relationships among reduction targets, energy production, economic viability for producers, and the role of farmworker and labor organizing. Sarah has held a variety of professional roles in the environmental and human services sectors, most recently as an Associate at Ross Strategic where she worked on various food system, rural development and energy resource projects. At Ross Strategic, Sarah conducted policy analysis, worked on mixed methods evaluations and was a member of the facilitation team for the Washington Food Policy Forum. She graduated from Boston University in 2015 with degrees in Communications and Environmental Analysis and Policy. Originally from the East Bay, Sarah is happy to be back on her home soil exploring on her bike and spending time with family.
Undergraduate, Environmental Sciences. Moncerrat is a third year undergraduate student from Oxnard, California. Growing up in an agricultural city, she engaged with matters impacting farmworkers’ health. Her interests include environmental justice, technology, and medicine. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and gardening. She looks forward to being a part of a collective effort and connecting with community members.
Graduate Student Food & Farm Systems Engagement Fellow
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Sofia is a first-year MBA student from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Growing up the daughter of two chefs, she’s always had a love for food and the way that breaking bread brings people together. A few years ago, she developed an interest in the intersection between food systems and environmental and social justice — she started volunteering on permaculture farms that emphasized engagement with nature as a form of meditation and healing, and learned all about making compost and applying regenerative farming techniques! She fell in love with this space, and chose to apply to Berkeley Haas and pursue an MBA with the intent of focusing her career on social & environmental impact within food and agri-business. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, traveling, spending time with friends and family, and dancing.
Isabel Navarro is a third year undergraduate student studying Molecular Environmental Biology. In summer of 2023, Isabel worked with non-profit organization Conscious Kitchen as a graphic designer. Her work aided in the mission of increasing organic school lunches throughout the Bay Area. Collaboration with local farmers and agricultural workers made Isabel passionate about justice and equity in our food systems. In addition to her position at BFI, Isabel is an undergraduate researcher at the UC Urban Bee Lab and the Boots Lab, studying native bees, pollination, and conservation.
Food Systems Experiential Learning & Careers Program Fellow
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Allison Parra is a fourth year undergrad studying Environmental Economics & Policy and minoring in Food Systems. She got into food systems by volunteering at local farms, which made her realize how much she loves doing the hard work that farming and gardening is. Growing ones own food is such an awesome thing that anyone anywhere should be able to do! She is also interested in urban farming and gardening, food equity, outdoor equity and opportunities, outdoor education with youth, agroecology. In her free time she enjoys running, swimming, hiking, flea markets, gardening, and watching movies.
Sarah is a fourth-year student at UC Berkeley. Before joining BFI, she interned for the White House Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation Office, where she supported the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. She has also worked with the Regeneration Field Institute, an environmental education program based out of Manabi, Ecuador; where she taught hands-on workshops on composting, syntropic agroforestry, land restoration, and supply chain sustainability. On campus, she is the Berkeley Student Food Collective co-chair and volunteers at the Gill Tract Community Farm. She is currently conducting an honors thesis analyzing strategies to scale regenerative agriculture practices globally. Her passion for environmentalism stems from her time advocating for communities affected by fossil fuel infrastructure in her hometown of Los Angeles. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, thrift shopping, and spending time in nature.
Elsa Cuenca-Rubio is a senior at UC Berkeley studying Environmental Economics & Policy with a minor in Public Policy. She is passionate about public policy and environmental justice. This past summer, she was a Senate Fellow in Sacramento gaining legislative experience with the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project (CLYLP). This experience introduced her to many issues in the state but especially farmworkers rights leading her to connect with BFI. Outside work at BFI, she is working with the Berkeley Unified School District supporting the Sustainability Program. She is excited to be a part of the team working towards a more sustainable future.
Alina Leticia Zárate is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group. Zárate’s interests center around farmworker justice, having worked for the United Farm Workers of America and been active in the farmworker justice movement since 2018. Her current research focuses on farmworker vulnerability to climate changes in addition to environment-labor dynamics, the water-food-energy nexus, and transition to sustainable agriculture in the US. In May 2024, she graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. In her free time, Zárate enjoys running, hiking, scuba diving, cooking, and playing the piano.
