Golden Carrot Winner: Mary Stein
Our next Golden Carrot Award is awarded to Mary Stein, an exemplary education and food system leader in our community! As Mary puts it - no matter what you major in, “there’s few topics so connected to everything than how we feed ourselves via planetary boundaries. You can do food system work from so many disciplines.”
Mary came to her own food system work through her interests in the intersection of environmental and human health. Whether she was studying environmental biology as an undergraduate or working as an environmental consultant in Colorado, she always felt a pull towards nutrition and better understanding the link between environmental well-being and human health. She was able to truly connect the two in 2007 when she first met Dr. Alison Harmon (then a faculty member and now Vice President for Research and Economic Development at MSU). They had an instant spark and began discussing MSU’s need for a sustainable food systems undergraduate program.
By 2009, that dream became a reality and the Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems (SFBS) program was created. Mary defines the program as an experiment in interdisciplinary work: it’s a true collaboration across professors, departments, and disciplines. Mary served as the program’s Coordinator from 2009 - 2011, ensuring the program addressed pressing food system issues.
In 2011, Mary took a hiatus from MSU to work for National Farm to School, where she was able to grow and connect to national level food system and policy work. In 2016, she came back to MSU as the Program Leader for SFBS.
Throughout her time at MSU, Mary has mentored and had a huge impact on hundreds of SFBS students throughout their college careers. You’ll know when you’ve met one of Mary’s former students because they’ll immediately tell you how incredible she is. As one former student says, “Mary is the number one advocate for all of her students, whether that be through helping you get where you need to be, opening doors, or generally supporting you. Mary is always there. Not every professor and advisor is like that!” Mary will even tell you that her favorite memory from her years of teaching is that five students who initially left school came back to finish their degrees. She says the most satisfying part of her job is witnessing students who struggle with school successfully complete their degree.
Mary is a fierce champion for her students and is extremely proud of everything they’ve accomplished. SFBS students are everywhere you turn in the food system: creating businesses, farming, working in the industry, and even working for the UN! She thinks they’re the best students on campus because they understand there’s no silver bullet solutions; to create food system solutions, they have to be systems thinkers and understand complex dynamics.
Mary is constantly learning from her students and community. It’s a piece of wisdom she hopes to pass on: creating important, meaningful change is only accomplished with strong relationships. She hopes her current and former students meet people, talk about the change that’s needed, listen intently, and build relationships.
As Mary steps away from her role at MSU and moves onto her next journey, we at GVF2S wish her all the best. Her impact on our community will be long-lasting, both through her professional achievements and the next generations of students she has inspired.