Team

Phoebe Stephens

Phoebe Stephens is an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University. Phoebe brings a critical, political economy perspective to understanding shareholder activism in sustainable food systems to the project. She previously led communications campaigns for international non-profits and the private sector.  

Truzaar Dordi

Truzaar Dordi is an Assistant Professor at the University of York. Truzaar studies sustainability transitions through the lens of finance. He has worked extensively on fossil fuel divestment, shareholder activism, and stranded asset risks. His work is grounded in corporate sustainability and active investment.

Alain Naef

Alain Naef is an Assistant Professor at ESSEC Business School. Alain's expertise lies in sustainable finance and the macroeconomics of climate change. With experience in green finance at the French central bank, Alain examines how finance can serve as a tool for sustainable transitions.

Sarah Sippel

Sarah Ruth Sippel is a Professor at the University of Münster. Sarah specializes in the financialization of agri-food systems, with a focus on farmland and agri-food tech. Her research is informed by qualitative methodologies and critical agri-food studies.

Sophi Napeyok

Sophi is an undergraduate student at Dalhousie University, currently pursuing a degree in Agribusiness. Her passion lies in sustainable agriculture, with a particular focus on agrifood systems. She believes in the power of innovative practices to transform food production and distribution networks, ensuring a healthier planet for future generations.

Aparna Raghu Menon

Aparna is a PhD Candidate in Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her SSHRC-funded doctoral project draws on critical disability studies, communication studies, posthumanism, and feminist frameworks to investigate the intersections of autism, health, and communication among nonverbal autistic children and adolescents. As part of her research work, Aparna also works on sustainable agriculture and ethnocultural food supply chain projects. 

Madelaine Shoemaker

Madelaine is beginning her Master of Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University in fall 2025. She has a special interest in sustainable food systems, food security, and how these intersect with health outcomes. With a background in Nutrition and Dietetics (BSc 2024) and Business Administration (HBA 2023), her goal is to conduct research that bridges these two fields. Ultimately, she hopes to use research as a tool to influence public policy and help build healthier, more sustainable communities. 

Leah Pearson

Leah will begin her Master’s in the Resource and Environmental Studies program at Dalhousie University in the fall of 2025. She developed a strong interest in food systems during her undergraduate studies in the Climate and Environment Arts and Science program at St. Francis Xavier University. Her academic interest has centered on food system sustainability, particularly through community-based and local food initiatives connected to agricultural expansion projects. Leah is passionate about exploring how new agricultural developments can be designed to support local food systems while advancing broader sustainability goals.

Arianna Muirow

Arianna is the founder and principal of RE•Leverage Consulting, providing strategic research and engagement to leverage finance for food systems change. Dr. Muirow is food systems expert and a financial activist with more than two decades of experience promoting equitable and sustainable food systems across sectors. Arianna has a doctorate in Geography from the University of Washington where her research analyzed food movements and capital allocation processes.

    Julio Galindo-Gutierrez

Julio is a political scientist specializing in international political economy and environmental politics, currently working as a Research Associate in the Environment Department at the University of York. He completed his PhD in Politics at the University of York in 2025, with a project on the political economy of public and private climate transition financing. His research analyzes how regulatory standards, monetary policy, and development finance frameworks influence pricing, risk perception, and access to sustainable finance. Julio has published in the Journal of International Relations and Development and Party Politics and has a forthcoming book on the institutional dynamics of climate finance to be published by Oxford University Press.