Management and teaching staff

Teaching staff

Jessica Duncan Jessica Duncan coordinates the Master’s programme in Food, Society and International Food Governance in the Department of Food Systems, Culture and Society. Her research interests include public participation in global agri-food governance and farm-level consequences of agri-food policies. She has worked in community capacity building, rural development, youth engagement and with various food and agriculture organizations. She has published on participation in global agri-food governance and on the politics of food.

Kay Muir-Leresche Kay Muir-Leresche formerly held the Professorial Chair in Agricultural Economics at the University of Zimbabwe and currently is a freelance consultant based outside Cape Town, South Africa. She has taught and supervised students at all levels and given lectures on most continents on issues relating to food policy. Earlier in her career she was involved with food marketing. She obtained her first degree by distance learning and has a strong empathy for students working from home and in their spare time.

Karen Rideout Karen Rideout is a PhD candidate in Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia, where her dissertation research examines the role of activists and policy makers in shaping diet and food culture in India and Canada. She also works as a Knowledge Translation Scientist at the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (Canada). She has taught nutrition education and food systems research at the undergraduate level. Karen has also been involved in policy and public engagement with non-profit groups focused on food and agriculture issues. She likes to work at the intersections of food systems, the environment, health, and social structures.

Zeina Sifri Zeina Sifri is a public health nutritionist who is currently working as an independent consultant in public health and nutrition. Prior to that, she was the Regional Coordinator for Africa with Helen Keller International (HKI). She also held the positions of Deputy Director for Child Survival and Country Director for Burkina Faso with HKI before that. As part of her responsibilities, Zeina developed and implemented programs in partnership with national and international partners, with an emphasis on gardening and food security, micro-nutrient supplementation and fortification, sanitation and hygiene, eye health, and others. She has worked as a consultant with several international organizations focusing on public health nutrition. Prior to that, Zeina worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization in their headquarters in Rome, focusing on nutrition education and then in their Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Thailand, focusing on food quality and safety.

Jayne Stack Originally from the UK, Jayne Stack is an Agricultural Economist who now lives and works in Zimbabwe. She has more than 20 years experience in development training, development programmes and research in Africa and Asia. Formerly senior lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension at the University of Zimbabwe where she taught research methods, agricultural development and micro economics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Jayne recognises the need for development professionals to be able to incorporate study into their working lifestyles and has in recent years become increasingly involved in distance learning education. She currently provides learning support to SADC students enrolled in postgraduate distance learning studies in sustainable development, development management and agribusiness with the University of London. Jayne has a broad interest in development issues ranging from crop marketing to agricultural policy reform, household food security and livelihood analysis. She also works with a small local church initiative supporting families affected by HIV/AIDS.

Lena Zúniga Lena Zúñiga is a researcher of social media and new technologies in the developing world. As part of her work with Sulá Batsú, a workers coop in Costa Rica, Lena has designed and facilitated knowledge sharing processes and the use of new media for a variety of multicultural groups, cooperatives and NGOs, especially within the social economy movement in Latin America. Several of her media projects are focused on local groups using performance arts and storytelling to share knowledge about food and agricultural traditions. She graduated as a journalist and has a background in multimedia production and human rights.