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Saturday Class with Cass 
photo credit: Mary Esther Malloy

Katie & María are smart, dynamic and passionate young women, with wisdom beyond their years. This informative presentation will discuss the pathways to collective and systemic change by way of individual behavior. All sustainability roles and sectors will resonate with this conversation, as there are many ways to be and lead the change we want to see. We have the power to co-create a future where humans protect and care for each other, our communities and this precious earth, first & foremost. 

Katie Barr ~ 
 
Is passionate about the intersection of behavioral psychology and the development of regional and local food systems.
 
She is currently an outreach specialist at,

 The Common Market, a regional food distributor that connects institutions to local family farms. Prior to her time at The Common Market, Katie worked as an organic farmer for 6 years. She has extensive experience and knowledge in sustainable agricultural practices, retail marketing of organic produce, and customer relations. She received her BA in Environmental Policy from Barnard College of Columbia University in 2016, and recently received her Master's degree in Behavior, Education and Communication at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability. Her Master’s Capstone focused on the development of grocery stores that work with local producers and operate on consignment called: Farm Stops. For more information, check out hefull report, and guidebook on How to Start a Farm Stop. Katie also received a certificate in integrative nutritional health coaching from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in 2022. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, studying medicinal herbalism, cooking, and practicing yoga.

María received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan in Behavior, Education and Communication and Ecosystem Science and Management (yes, it is a horrible mouthful) and her bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis in Cognitive Neuroscience. You can read her thesis, entitled 
“A Collection of Ecuadorian Artisanal Fishers' Perspectives on Ocean Conservation,” here. She is particularly interested in how science communication and behavior change principles can be used to protect ocean ecosystems and the people who rely on them (which is to say, all of us). In her free time, she enjoys birding, reading, playing with her cat Paco and pretending she is scuba diving. 

 
I hope you will join me!
 
 
~ A l i ~
 
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