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About Rebecca L. Som Castellano

With a new Ph.D. in rural sociology from The Ohio State University, Dr. Rebecca Som Castellano came to Boise State University in 2013 as faculty in the Department of Sociology. Her earlier education included an M.A. in sociology from the University of Kentucky, and an interdisciplinary B.A. from Western Washington University, Fairhaven College. Her work managing farmer's markets in Bellingham and Seattle, Washington, developing learning gardens for low-income populations in Portland, Oregon, and working on the Healthy Food Access Initiative for the Office for Sustainability at the Ohio State Department of Agriculture, have inspired her teaching and research interests. Dr. Som Castellano's current research focuses on agrifood system change, with particular attention paid to the potential of alternative agrifood movements to create change in the agriculture and food system, and the ways in which social inequalities threaten the achievement of sustainability in the agriculture and food system.

Positions

2023 - Present Interim Director, Boise State University Department of Human-Environment Systems
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2013 - Present Assistant Professor, Boise State University Department of Sociology
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Disciplines



Grants

2022 - 2022 Pilot study comparing pesticide levels in male and female Latinx farmworkers. The team hopes to then deduce why differences in pesticide exposure may exist.
University of Washington - Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center
Colleague(s): Carly Hyland, Cynthia Curl, and Lisa Meierotto
$45,000
2019 - 2019 Assessment of Risk Factors for Health Disparities Among Latina Farm Workers
Mountain West IDeA Clinical and Translational Research – Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN)
Colleague(s): Cynthia Curl, Lisa Meierotto, and Jennifer Schneider
$5,000
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Professional Service and Affiliations

2022 - Present Council member representing non-land grant universities, Rural Sociological Society
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Honors and Awards

  • 2015 - Governor's Proclamation on Hunger & Food Security, Idaho
  • 2012-2013 - Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Research Grant
  • 2009-2012 - United States Department of Agriculture National Needs Fellowship, Social Responsibility Initiative, The Ohio State University, Ph.D. Fellowship
  • 2008 - Rural Sociological Society Master's Thesis Award

Courses

  • Introduction to Sociology
  • Introduction to Rural Sociology
  • Food, Agriculture and Society
  • Research Methods

Education

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B.A. - Interdisciplinary Studies, Western Washington University
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M.A. - Sociology, University of Kentucky
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Contact Information

E-mail: rsomcastellano@boisestate.edu



Peer-Reviewed Articles (15)

Contributions to Books (2)

Reports (2)

Datasets (1)

Thesis (1)

Selected Presentations (17)