Biographical Information

Rachael Garrett is a 2nd year PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. Rachael earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and Environmental Analysis and Policy at Boston University, Magna Cum Laude, where she was a University Scholar and earned the Franklin C. Erickson Prize for Excellence in Geography. She later obtained her Master in Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. She is the current recipient of the Richard L. Kauffman and Ellen Jewett IPER Fellowship.

Rachael has been a nature and wildlife enthusiast my whole life, but credits her decision to make environmental problem solving her life’s work to a trip she took to Costa Rica with my high school Biology class in 2000. On this trip she developed a desire to figure out ways to protect the world’s remaining tropical forests, and more generally, to promote the health and integrity of ecosystems.

She is both spiritually and academically motivated by the idea that every living and nonliving thing on this planet is connected, and that humans have a moral obligation to preserve the diversity of the earth by protecting the health of its ecosystems and the physical well being of it’s human and non-human inhabitants.

Research Interests

Rachael studies the expansion and intensification of soybean and cattle production in Brazil, and the implications of these changes for native plant regions, indigenous communities, and the poor in Brazil. She looks at the macroeconomic drivers of changes in production, such as the effects of trade agreements and exchange rates, as well as the affect of governance and corruption on deforestation in agricultural frontier regions.

Teaching Activities

Rachael will be TAing the World Food Economy course this winter and helping with a seminar on Agricultural Development in Brazil led by a visiting professor from the University of São Paulo. She will be presenting a forthcoming paper on the macroeconomic drivers of soybean planted area in Brazil at the Association of American Geographers Annual Conference in April, 2010.

Professional Activities

Rachael has worked for both the private sector and non-profits on issues ranging from environmental liability analysis to mercury pollution prevention to coal mine reclamation. Most recently, she worked as an Apprentice on a biodynamic and organic farm in Salem, Connecticut in order to understand the physical challenges to implementing sustainable agriculture projects. Prior to that position, she worked as an Environmental Consultant, helping restaurants and resorts across the country reduce their environmental impact by installing energy and water efficient technologies and purchasing local food. Another highlight of her professional experiences was working for the Jatun Sacha Foundation in Ecuador developing a sustainable forestry management plan for a Shuar biological reserve in the Amazon.