Graduate spotlight: Godoy seeks food system resilience

Master’s student María José Godoy Harb wants people to know about a remote spot in her native Chile that offers global insights.

“My research is about documenting things people learned about the food system during the COVID-19 pandemic on Rapa Nui Island, also known as Easter Island,” Godoy Harb wrote. “My goal is to inform public policy around efforts to transform the food system and to help make food systems more resilient.”

Her research was selected for a poster presentation at the Food Systems Research Conference at the University of Vermont, to be held in September.

Godoy Harb is about to earn a master of science degree in international agricultural development, and she participated in the recent UC Davis commencement ceremonies. Her work earned her a Jim Grieshop Family Award for her contributions to community education, outreach and research. The award is given to outstanding students in the international agricultural development graduate group.

The university’s system of graduate groups allows for rich collaboration among departments and colleges at UC Davis, and Godoy Harb’s studies are an example: Her major professor is Mark H. Cooper, in the Department of Human Ecology, and her committee includes Amanda Crump, in the Department of Plant Sciences, and Heidi Ballard, in the School of Education.

Godoy Harb has received generous support through a UC Davis Global Fellowship for Agricultural Development, a Jastro-Shields Graduate Research Award and a seed grant from UC Davis Global Affairs for interdisciplinary collaboration for sustainability, offered in partnership with the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.