MESM 2021
Bio
Simone graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2014, with a Bachelors of Science in Ecology and Evolution. During her undergraduate education, she investigated ecological challenges facing California’s food economy through the Urban Garden Ecology Project. Simone researched species richness in urban gardens and found gardens and farms to be crucial habitat for many species, including humans, impacted by urbanization. This encouraged her to explore farms and gardens as ecological and cultural reserves. After graduating she worked on farms in San Mateo and Santa Cruz county. She experienced a lack of food security amongst California’s farmers and consumers. Through collaborations with local legal, social, ecological and agricultural organizations she envisioned healthy and just food production and distribution. Recently, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) catalyzed groundwater conservation planning in California counties. SGMA’s potential for systemic change inspired Simone to study water conservation, a keystone in sustainable and just food production. As a SWM Fellow and Bren MESM student, Simone pursues a career creating market-based solutions for water conservation and equity in agricultural counties throughout California.