Emily Baker

Emily is a PhD candidate in Development Studies in the Department of Global Development at Cornell. Emily is originally from Montana, where she earned her B.A. in literature and philosophy from the University of Montana. She holds M.S. degrees in International Agricultural Development (2015) and Community Development (2015) from the University of California, Davis. She has been studying climate change adaptation, conservation, and agriculture in East Africa since 2014. Her dissertation research explores the ways protracted conflict and climate change intersect with gendered knowledge, farm management practices, and agrobiodiversity in agroforestry systems in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Uganda. Emily is particularly interested in participatory approaches that center local knowledge and priorities to inform policy and community decision-making for biodiversity conservation, food security, and adaptation strategies. Her recent projects include: Chapter Scientist for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (2022), a review of climate change adaptation in mixed agricultural systems, and a review of the social and environmental impacts of local 'food hubs' in collaboration with the Cornell Small Farms program. She works with Rachel Bezner Kerr (chair), Jenny Goldstein, and Alison Power. Emily’s field research has been supported by the Sustainable Biodiversity Fund and an Atkinson Center for Sustainability Graduate Research Grant.