Bio notes

Stefan Dorondel is an internationally recognized researcher focusing on the study of postsocialism and land-property changes, and particularly in Romania. His publication and research record fits perfectly the interest of the JustFood project: he has (co)authored more than 20 relevant articles and 4 books that can support the data analysis of JustFood. He has developed long-standing collaboration with other internationally recognized scholars in the field such as Dr. Visser or Dr. Sikor, who have been building a necessary expertise on the topic in Europe. He received 2 PhD degrees, one in Agricultural Economics from the Humboldth University-Germany and another one in History& Anthropology from Lucian Blaga University –Romania, focusing on the crucial topics of peasant imaginaries and land transformations in Romania. His MA and Ba as well are focusing on the topic, as you can read in his resume. He is currently a researcher at the Institute of Anthropology of the Academy of Social Science in Romania and has received numerous grants to carry out fieldwork as well as to coordinate research projects.

Petr Jehlička (RNDr in Geography, Charles University, Prague; PhD in Social and Political Sciences, Cambridge University) is Senior Lecturer in Environmental Geography at The Open University in the UK. His research, with a long-term focus on East European environmentalism, was initially concerned with the unintended consequences of the import of the western ideal of civil society in post-socialist societies and the divergence this represented from state-socialist and pre-socialist alternative culture and politics. This work was published in Environment and History, Environmental Politics, Czech Sociological Review, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers and several book chapters. Later the scope of his research broadened to study the process of ‘Europeanization' of environmental governance in new EU member states. This has led to the current interest in sustainable food production and consumption, the outcome of which was published in a range of co-authored book chapters and articles in Sociologia Ruralis, Canadian Journal of Development Studies, Social Indicators Research, Geoforum and Journal of Rural Studies.

Valer Cosma is a highly recognized researcher focusing on the study of rurality, modernity and social justice in Europe (specifically in Romania). He finished his PhD in History and Philosophy at the University of Babes-Bolyai-Cluj (Romania) and has since edited and published 5 books and 19 articles related to these topics. In the last 7 years, Dr. Cosma has developed crucial expertise relevant to the topic of alternative food networks in Romania. Dr. Cosma has been critically addressing the topics of peasantry and and social justice in Romania from a historical and cultural perspective. For instance, his edited volume entitled Included and Excluded (2012), speaks eloquently to what JustFood has meant by expanding perceptions on environmental (in)justice from a critical theory perspective. More so, his expertise in organizing successful events such as the Telciu Summer School is extremely important for carry out the JustFood Project in Romania. Valer is currently co-coordinating a cultural program as member of the Center for the Study of Rurality and Modernity: together with a team of artists and scholars, he is collecting on the ground narratives related to rural work and employment possibilities.

Ramona Dominicioiu (EcoRuralis) has a long path in cooperating with several organizations and movements for social and environmental justice. Since 2003, her activity focused mainly on facilitation of and support for various rural communities opposing exploitation projects or for their rural development and delivering trainings on issues such as direct action, group dynamics and processes etc. She has a deep interest in the many forms of oppression and power struggles of the marginalized, currently working with the peasant association Eco Ruralis (www.ecoruralis.ro) as a members’ support and Right to Seeds program coordinator. Raluca is accredited as trainer of trainers and completed studies in communication.
Raluca Dan will contribute to the co-production of research by facilitating access to a network of activits and peasants involved in the socio-environmental movements in Romania. She will provide the project with a broader vision of the complex phenomenon of socio-environmental injustice. Her national and international activism has enormous relevance for the project overall objective, i.e. to broaden understandings on food justice in Europe.

Isabel Rodrigo is Associate Professor (with Aggregation) in Agrarian Economics and Rural Sociology at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia/Universidade de Lisboa. She has been carrying out research in the areas of: (i) family farming; (ii) rural development dynamics and policies; (iii) agricultural and agro-forestry production systems; (iv) short agri-food chains, and (v) quality traditional agri-food products. She has coordinated several national and European research projects, supervised several Master's and Doctoral dissertations and published in different national and international journals.

Sara Rocha has a postgraduate degree in Social Intervention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of Coimbra, where she also worked on research projects related to mental health, poverty and social exclusion and where she was teaching assistant. She was a research fellow at Univ. Nova de Lisboa in the CATALISE project on social innovation and sustainable "alternatives" in Portugal. She has worked on farms and in catering, integrated several associative initiatives linked to inclusive architecture, promotion of food sovereignty and sustainability at a local and national level. Today she manages projects, facilitates networks and is an advocacy officer at the Portuguese ONGD ACTUAR.