Emily Kaplan

Emily Kaplan double majored in environmental science and global and international studies at the University of Kansas. She conducted research on Kansas native bee species, genetically modified food systems in India, tall-grass prairie ecosystems, and worked in the university’s entomology lab. After graduation, Emily worked for the city of Overland Park, researching how humans have impacted the native river ecosystem. Additionally, she was an environmental educator on a nature preserve and organic farm in Los Altos Hills, California, teaching families how to live more sustainably. Emily served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia, collaborating with the Zambian Department of Fisheries and subsistence farmers to expand aquaculture projects into rural communities. Emily also collaborated with Zambian women and girls on gender equality projects. Emily is interested in how food and water security, gender equity, and climate change intersect in developing nations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. She is the recipient of a Donald & Marilyn Keough Fellowship.