Work

I help others understand the nuances of the global food system and navigate its complexity to build a regenerative future.

The impact of my work stems from skills that at first don’t seem to fit together. I’m an accountant and an anthropologist. I’ve studied the origins of agriculture and written future scenarios. I’m as comfortable with the big picture as I am getting into the weeds of a problem, and I engage a group of executives as easily as I build rapport with a farmer in a one-on-one research interview.

These diverse skills give me a unique perspective on how different pieces of the global food system fit together and help me draw from history to anticipate the potential future impacts of our actions today. They also equip me with a toolkit of methods and processes that I combine and adapt to a given situation.

I draw on this background to lead innovation strategy, programs, projects, and workshops aimed to catalyze food systems change. I also advise teams and leaders when they need a deeper understanding of an entrenched problem, intentional processes to engage collaborators, research that will glean actionable insight, or a thought partner to refine a strategy or new concept.

This looks like:

  • Leading a behavioral science research project to understand plate waste patterns and reduction interventions

  • Running the pre-competitive IDEO Circular Economy of Food CoLab with Kroger, Danone, and Electrolux

  • Building a prototype for soil-centered purchase contracts with farmers and procurement leaders

  • Advising a land grant university's 5-year agriculture and life sciences strategy

  • Giving feedback on a conversation NGO’s draft regenerative agriculture definition and a global food company’s regenerative dairy framework

  • Partnering with The Rockefeller Foundation, EAT, Thought for Food, and Meridian Institute on a solutions challenge that engaged people from 85 countries in the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit

  • Launching and growing the Food Futures Lab at Institute for the Future

  • Writing 10-year alternative future scenarios for global food security for an agribusiness company

  • Interviewing microbiologists, physicians, biotechnologists, and entrepreneurs to write forecasts for precision nutrition and precision fermentation

  • Conducting global ethnographic research to uncover how food is a medium for transforming daily life

  • Teaching foresight tools to young farmers and food professionals in Australia and New Zealand

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What others say

  • “Rebecca is a through and through systems thinker. She holds complexity and stewards it thoughtfully into conversation and onto project work. She has a clear point of view and depth of expertise that feels thoughtfully crafted but never dogmatic. Her expertise always feels right sized for the challenge and made accessible for her collaborators. Rarely have I worked with someone that strikes this balance so beautifully.”

  • “Rebecca’s energy and enthusiasm is a secret ingredient when it comes to making opaque futures and messy systems feel optimistic, possible, and engaging. Anyone can learn and deploy a framework or toolkit. Rebecca brings an intangible element. She can help you find the signal through the noise and make sense of the chaos, and do it without losing your way, feeling afraid, or ever doubting that you are going to get there.”

  • “Rebecca’s skillset across food systems and futuring is hugely needed by the world right now. We're stepping into a very uncertain set of decades where we'll be forced to redesign the way our societies and systems work. Rebecca brings the strategic mindset we need to tackle those challenges.”

  • “Rebecca is an exceptional (top 1% of people I know) facilitator, whose questions and thoughtfully-designed activities get the heart of the conversation. She is also a phenomenal team leader who holds high expectations for those around her, while also being a warm, generous, and caring partner in the work.”