Phoebe Hering

Phoebe Hering is a second-year MEM candidate in the School of the Environment. Originally from a rural area of southern Pennsylvania, Phoebe spent her childhood on farms that were increasingly being jeopardized and swallowed by unplanned development projects. Following her graduation from Cornell University, where she studied religious philosophy, comparative literature, and French literature, Phoebe headed West to New Mexico, working as a full-time ranch hand. Here, she was able to gain first-hand experience being a small-scale producer, and she learned the hard way that being a rancher is one of the hardest jobs around. Following her time ranching, Phoebe earned a master’s of research from the Erasmus Mundus Joint degree program, earning degrees from France, Spain, and Italy in cultural studies and modern languages. Her dissertation work, drawing on her agricultural experiences, focused upon the value systems of and systemic problems affecting working landscapes and their communities. As part of this project, she also worked for the Mexican Foundation for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN), helping launch a regenerative ranching initiative in Chihuahua. Immediately prior to joining the YSE community, Phoebe managed a conservation cattle herd for a land trust in central California, using innovative grazing techniques for grassland restoration.  Phoebe is applying her background in agriculture, land trust, and social justice work to help construct a land justice initiative for a Connecticut-based land trust. Together, they are  working to create pathways to land ownership for farmers of color and immigrant farmers.