2nd Class, 2003-2005
Field Placement: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico
Amanda King researched two case study reports illustrating the impacts of NAFTA and other globalization-related policy changes on different categories of Mexican maize and wheat producers. Her findings were used to educate policymakers and the general public in industrialized countries about the impacts that trade agreements are having on the welfare of poor farmers in developing countries.
Policy Placement: International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
Amanda worked on a major research effort on formal and informal seed systems, their relationship to crop genetic diversity and the impacts on household welfare.
Pre-Fellowship Education/Experience:
Amanda holds an MS in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California, Berkeley. She worked with a Peruvian NGO to understand the factors responsible for the loss of traditional crop varieties and examined ways to support local initiatives in management and conservation. Amanda also served as a contributing editor to Diversity magazine, where she covered NGO efforts related to biodiversity conservation and authored articles on genetic resource conservation and ethno-biology. She also consulted for the Global Conservation Trust in Rome. She speaks Spanish and Italian fluently.