Julian Agyeman, Ph.D. FRSA FRGS is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. He is the originator of the increasingly influential concept of just sustainabilities, the intentional integration of social justice and environmental sustainability. He centers his research on critical explorations of the complex and embedded relations between humans and the urban environment, whether mediated by governments or social movement organizations, and their effects on public policy and planning processes and outcomes, particularly in relation to notions of justice and equity.

He believes that what our cities can become (sustainable, smart, sharing and resilient) and who is allowed to belong in them (recognition of difference, diversity, and a right to the city) are fundamentally and inextricably interlinked. We must therefore act on both belonging and becoming, together, using just sustainabilities as the anchor, or face deepening spatial and social inequities and inequalities.

He is the author or editor of 11 books, including Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World (MIT Press, 2003), Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class and Sustainability (MIT Press, 2011), and Sharing Cities: A Case for Truly Smart and Sustainable Cities (MIT Press, 2015), one of Nature’s Top 20 Books of 2015. In 2018, he was awarded the Athena City Accolade by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, for his "outstanding contribution to the field of social justice and ecological sustainability, environmental policy and planning."

As a steering committee, we acknowledge that:

1. The sustainable agriculture movement in America has largely excluded Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American communities and others, as well as the vast contributions made by the expertise of those farming communities to the field of agriculture.
2. Enslaved African people built the wealth of the American economy on land stolen from Native American communities.
3. Our existing food system and farms are powered by the labor of Latinx and other foreign-born workers of color, but only 7% of farmer owner-operators are people of color.
4. Many forms of systemic and direct oppression within agriculture and beyond continue today and have lasting negative environmental, social, emotional, and financial impacts.

In light of these truths, the New England Campus Farmer Summit commits to actively seek diverse voices to share perspectives on how campus farms, gardens, and other growing spaces can serve - and can better serve - as the intersection of food justice, environmental sustainability, food access, and wellness. We commit to creating learning environments that respect the dignity of all people and that foster empathy, healing, and growth in individuals and communities where division, greed, and hate has endured in the past.

Our intention is that the Summit brings together the current and next generations of farmers and food systems leaders from all backgrounds to seek creative solutions to our greatest societal threats, including but not limited to: white supremacy & social injustice, climate change, and the dissolution of community bonds.

We commit to creating a safe space that ensures people of all backgrounds and any identity feel welcome and able to participate fully in this important work. We recognize that creating this type of space is an ongoing effort that requires listening, learning, allocation of resources, and intentional adjustment. In this spirit, we welcome you to join us at the 2020 New England Campus Farmer Summit.

~ The 2020 New England Campus Farmer Summit Steering Committee

Brought to you by:

2020 Campus Farmer Summit Steering Committee

Celia Dolan, Stonehill College
Maida Ives, Amherst College
Bridget Lawrence-Meigs, Stonehill College 
Todd McLane, Tompkins-Cortland Community College
Dana Stevens, Farm to Institution New England
Tania Taranovski, Farm to Institution New England
Ellie Youngblood, Fairfield Farm at The Hotchkiss School