Nisreen Abo-Sido

Nisreen Abo-Sido

MEM Candidate 2023
Yale School of the Environment

Nisreen is pursuing a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) at the Yale School of the Environment (YSE). Her studies focus on food systems and small farmer livelihoods. Before coming to YSE, Nisreen worked as a project manager for a nonprofit organization, where she led a collaborative, multistakeholder, and place-based regenerative agriculture initiative. Upon graduating from Wellesley College in 2018, Nisreen embarked on an international independent study—as a Thomas Watson Fellow—to explore how small farmers creatively develop innovative agricultural techniques. Her research and work experiences have inspired in her a commitment to participatory processes that support farmer agency and advance food sovereignty.

As a Policy Intern with the New Haven Food System Policy Division (FSPD), Nisreen is assisting the Division in organizing and implementing its community-informed projects for supporting specialty crop cultivation and access in New Haven. Though New Haven has a lively urban agriculture community, there exist many barriers for people to reap the full benefits of growing their own food—this is especially true for Black, Brown, low-income, and other communities who have—and continue to experience—disinvestment. The FSPD’s projects are community-driven and focused on supporting socially disadvantaged farmers primarily by creating an enabling policy environment, and more recently, through programs like education workshops, strategies for connecting urban growers to local businesses, and seed-saving of culturally-relevant crops.

People and Partners