Jean Eells operates E Resources Group, LLC from Webster City Iowa. She grew up on an Iowa farm where there were no cockleburs. She conducts research and conservation programs with Women, Food and Agriculture Network and other partners.

Stephanie Enloe is the Director of Programming for the Women Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN) and a PhD candidate at Cornell University. She recently returned to her home state of Iowa after living for several years in Ithaca, NY. In her role as a graduate student, Stephanie works with a Malawian farming organization called Soils, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC) to support their ongoing efforts to advance agroecology. She brings her interests in sustainable food systems, social justice, and participatory learning models to her work coordinating WFAN’s Women Caring for the Land and Harvesting Our Potential programs.

Linda Shenk is an Associate Professor of English at Iowa State University. In her research, she applies her background in storytelling and performance to how researchers and community members can co-create narratives that foster relationship building, action, and resilience. She teaches courses that bring together Shakespeare, Climate Change Theatre Action, community empowerment, and science communication.

From the Women, Food and Agriculture Network: ​As an agricultural and majority-white organization, WFAN recognizes that the US food system grew out of Indigenous genocide, the enslaved labor of African Americans, and the continuous exploitation of BIPOC. The control of land -- and the food growing upon it -- have long been weapons of white supremacy and colonialism. Our work in Iowa takes place on the homelands of several Indigenous nations, including the Báxoje, Meskwaki, and Sauk.

_______

Visit The EcoTheatre Lab's website at ⁠ecotheatrelab.com⁠ for links to Jean, Stephanie, and Linda's work and how to connect with them and the Women, Food and Agriculture Network; the transcript for this episode; and more information about the podcast, production team, and The EcoTheatre Lab.

This podcast series is all about finding ways to talk about climate change with each other. The EcoTheatre Lab wants to also be in dialogue with our listeners!  Please let us know your thoughts on this episode through this ⁠brief feedback form⁠ (tinyurl.com/artofclimatedialogue)! 

_______

Thank you to our podcast funders:

Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy Emerging Leader Award and North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Graduate Student Grant.*

This podcast is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2021-38640-34714 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number GNC22-345. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this podcast are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

_______

Thank you to our podcast production team:

Vivian M. Cook - Producer, Host, and Editor

Rosie Marcu-Rowe - Editor

Moselle Nita Singh - Cover Artist

Omar de Kok-Mercado - Musician

Charissa Menefee, Taylor Sklenar, and Mary Swander - Consultants