The Global Food Systems Program is based at Harvard Kennedy School and has affiliates from across the entire Harvard ecosystem reflecting its interdisciplinary nature.
Staff
Program Coordinator, Global Food Systems Program; Harvard Kennedy School
Emily Baird is a food security specialist with a background spanning global and domestic food systems. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics, where her research focused on the geopolitical drivers of food security.
Fellow
Senior Fellow, Global Food Systems Program; Harvard Kennedy School
Sara Boettiger is an agricultural economist who works across public and private sectors on global food security, climate change, nutrition and economic development.
Faculty Affiliate
Clinical Professor of Law; Director, Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation; Director, Food Law and Policy Clinic; Harvard Law School
Emily Broad Leib conducts scholarly and applied work at the intersection of food systems, law, and policy, with a focus on increasing food access, supporting food is medicine, reducing food loss and waste, and increasing sustainability in food production.
Faculty Affiliate
Harvey Brooks Research Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development; Harvard Kennedy School
William Clark’s research explores how scientific knowledge can be better linked to practical actions in support of sustainable development of the world food system.
Staff
Managing Director and Chief of Hospitality; Harvard University Dining Services
Smitha Hari is Managing Director and chief of hospitality for Harvard University Dining Services. She is shaping a food program that prioritizes health and wellness, cultural sensitivity, religious sensitivity, and community life. The goal is to build a shared vision for the future of hospitality and dining in service of the Harvard community.
Fellow
Senior Research Fellow, Sustainability Science Program; Harvard Kennedy School
Alicia Harley studies how societies build and maintain the capacities needed to pursue sustainable development, including the capacities to promote equity, adapt to shocks, and transform development pathways. Her empirical work focuses on agricultural innovation in South Asia, where she examines how technologies and institutions can be designed so that the poorest and most vulnerable farmers benefit.
Faculty Affiliate
Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry; Faculty Fellow of the Arnold Arboretum; Affiliate of Environmental Science and Engineering; Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Michele Holbrook conducts research on the physics and physiology of vascular transport in plants with the goal of understanding how constraints on the movement of water and solutes between soil and leaves influences ecological and evolutionary processes.
Faculty Affiliate
Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology; Chair, Department of Nutrition; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Hu’s primary research interests include epidemiology and prevention of cardiometabolic diseases through diet and lifestyle; gene-environment interactions; nutritional omics and precision nutrition; and nutrition transitions in low- and middle-income countries.
Faculty Affiliate
Department Chair, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering; Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Peter Huybers’ lab researches how climate change will influence food production and food security.
Fellow
Executive Fellow; Harvard Business School
Christian Johnson is a former Executive Vice President at Nestlé SA and holds an MBA from UCLA and a Master’s in Religion and Public Life from Harvard Divinity School. He is particularly interested in justice within the global food ecosystem.
Faculty Affiliate
Assistant Professor of Public Policy; Harvard Kennedy School
Ishan Nath is interested in the intersection of climate change, agriculture, international trade, and the macroeconomics of development.
Fellow
Senior Fellow, Global Food Systems Program; Harvard Kennedy School
Research Associate of Professor Ray Goldberg and a Harvard MBA graduate. He has 30 years of experience across the food and beverage industry in Europe and North America.
Faculty Affiliate
Assistant Professor of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute & Harvard Medical School
Dr. Petimar conducts research that seeks to identify policy solutions to promote healthy eating, especially for those at the highest risk of nutrition-related chronic disease.
Faculty Affiliate
John D. Black Professor; Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Promotions and Tenure; Harvard Business School
Forest Reinhardt is interested in the strategies of firms in the food and agribusiness industries worldwide as these are affected by technology, consumer demand, and government behavior.
Fellow
Executive Fellow; Harvard Business School
Shari Rogge-Fidler is a fifth-generation farm owner and operator from Nebraska. She recently became Executive Director of Farm Rescue after serving as President and CEO of Farm Foundation, where she helped advance global policy dialogue and solutions around the future of agriculture, while building partnerships across the industry.
Faculty Affiliate
Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows; Assistant Professor, Economics (eff. 7/2026); Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Anna Russo's research fields are environmental economics, public finance, industrial organization, and market design.
Faculty Affiliate
Ray A. Goldberg Professor of the Global Food System; Harvard Kennedy School
Wolfram Schlenker studies the effect of weather and climate on agricultural yields and migration, how climate trends and the US biofuel mandate influences agricultural commodity prices, and how pollution impacts both agricultural yields and human morbidity.
Faculty Affiliate
Assistant Professor of Public Policy; Harvard Kennedy School
Charles Taylor studies environmental economics—focusing on climate, agriculture, land use, migration, and economic history—using satellite data and remote sensing to answer policy‑relevant questions.
Faculty Affiliate
Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management; Harvard Business School
Michael Toffel’s research examines how companies are addressing climate change and other environmental and working condition issues in their operations and supply chains. He hosts the HBS Climate Rising podcast.
Faculty Affiliate
Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition; Director, Thich Nhat Hanh Center for Mindfulness in Public Health; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Willett’s primary research is to understand the relationships between diet and dietary components to long term health outcomes, and to integrate this knowledge into foods systems that are healthy, sustainable, and just.
No affiliates match the selected filters.