Student Staff

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.

I’m a senior studying Nutritional Science Physiology and Metabolism. In the summer of 2024, I interned under UCSF’s summer student research program that paired me up with the Nutrition Policy Institute where I conducted research. I researched the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the impact on nutritional quality of meals and snacks served by family child care home providers with the higher Covid-19 reimbursement rate. This experience has further developed my passion for equitable food accessibility and food justice. I’m also interested in the ties between food and nutrition with medicine and health.

Xihan is a second-year Master of Development Practice student at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. She has worked with nonprofits including Meals on Wheels San Francisco and the Food as Medicine Collaborative, focusing on food justice, health equity, and community empowerment. As an Agroecology Fellow with the Berkeley Food Institute, Xihan brings her passion for advancing sustainable food systems.

I am a junior transfer student from Los Angeles studying Business Administration at UC Berkeley. This past summer, I worked on an internship project focused on food security, which deepened my interest in nonprofit management and the social sector. I am originally from Ukraine, where my father’s family has farmed small plots of land for generations, and I often helped with cultivation. I’m excited to learn more about sustainable farming and to contribute to efforts that address food insecurity.

Madison is a Master’s in Climate Solutions student from Frenchtown, New Jersey. Growing up in a rural community, she was drawn early on to questions of how people adapt to a changing climate. After studying at Princeton, she worked in Kenya with organizations like One Acre Fund and the International Livestock Research Institute, where she focused on translating scientific research into actionable insights, managing grants and building coalitions across stakeholders in agriculture and climate policy. These experiences shaped her vision to pursue a career at the nexus of global climate policy and food systems, with an emphasis on turning evidence into impact. At Berkeley, she is focusing her studies on strategies for strengthening resilience to climate change through innovative policy and finance solutions. In her free time, Madison enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with friends and family.

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.

Undergraduate, Environmental Economics and Policy. Olivia is a third year at UC Berkeley. Growing up around agricultural producers in the Nicasio valley of Marin County, she developed an interest in regenerative food systems that combine both environmental and societal health. She believes in the potential that food systems have to change the way we live for the better. In her free time, she enjoys reading, road trips, hiking, and spending time with the people she loves. She looks forward to being a part of BFI’s mission for a more sustainable and just food system.

Amanda is a Master of Development Practice student in the Goldman School of Public Policy. She is studying food systems as the focus of her degree and has spent the last five years working in food systems in various capacities and settings. She has written for Food Tank, attended food systems summer schools at ETH Zurich and the University of Padua, apprenticed at Alemany Farm, worked at the UC Gill Tract Community Farm, conducted research for FSA and CAFF with UCANR, interned at the Future Food Institute in Bologna, has a permaculture design certificate, and currently serves as a co-chair of the Food Institute Graduate Council.

Adriana is a senior undergraduate studying Environmental Economics and Policy. As a first-generation Latina, she is passionate about advancing climate justice and sustainable food systems, with experience conducting research on fossil fuel divestment, building climate policy models, and analyzing clean energy market dynamics. Beyond her academic and advocacy work, Adriana enjoys connecting with the outdoors through yoga and hiking, and she loves cooking and sharing meals with friends and family.

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.