Nicole Kennard’s passion for sustainability and food justice took root as a Georgia Tech undergraduate in materials science and engineering. It then blossomed across the Atlantic in the U.K., where she studied sustainable food systems as a Fulbright Scholar and later as a doctoral student. Today, she’s back at Georgia Tech as assistant director for Community-Engaged Research in the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS). Kennard supports faculty in building meaningful and co-creative research partnerships with local communities to address pressing sustainability and societal challenges.

“I find food very interesting because it’s interdisciplinary by necessity. Food is the great connector,” says Kennard.