Dr. Philip Loring, Arrell Chair in Food, Policy and Society and Associate Professor within the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, has accepted a position as the inaugural Director of Human Dimensions Science for the Global Science Team at The Nature Conservancy!

Phil was appointed to Arrell Chair in 2018, and over the years led several community-engaged research projects and key knowledge mobilization initiatives, around topics such as environmental change, food security, and food systems transformations. Phil and his lab have conducted research in communities across Alaska and Western and Arctic Canada, as well as in Ecuador and Saskatchewan. As an ecological anthropologist, Phil navigated challenging topics at the intersections of food, fisheries and communities, and helped to initiate pathways to meaningful change through his projects.

During his time with AFI, Phil produced foundational research on regenerative agriculture and fisheries, which lead to over 30 academic papers and his award-winning book, Finding Our Niche: Toward a Restorative Human Ecology. He also made remarkable impact to science communication, having produced several highly subscribed podcasts and a short documentary on conflict over wetlands and agriculture in the Canadian Prairies. More recently, he was the lead author on a report by World Wildlife Fund which outlines a framework for identifying the right innovation, for the right impact, in the right place, to help support countries in implementing unique national pathways to achieve food systems transformations.

The AFI team extends a warm congratulations to Phil as he moves on to an exciting new opportunity, and thanks him for his expertise and thoughtful devotion to improving global food systems throughout his role. Phil’s last day with AFI is January 4, 2024.