BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Embedded Files
Academic
Academic
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (2013) and a Master of Science in Cultural and Environmental Resource Management from Central Washington University (2022). My master's training was intentionally interdisciplinary, integrating anthropology, geography, economics, and policy, and provided a foundation for applied research on food systems, institutions, and environmental decision-making.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (2013) and a Master of Science in Cultural and Environmental Resource Management from Central Washington University (2022). My master's training was intentionally interdisciplinary, integrating anthropology, geography, economics, and policy, and provided a foundation for applied research on food systems, institutions, and environmental decision-making.
My master's thesis, Higher Education and Food Access: A Case Study of Food Access Initiatives and Their Community Impact¹, examined how institutional structures, community initiatives, and lived experience shape food access on a university campus. Through more than 200 hours of ethnographic fieldwork, I documented campus food systems, hunger relief efforts, and community-driven responses to food insecurity. Findings from this work informed institutional efforts to address food insecurity and reinforced my interest in how social systems and values shape decision-making.
My master's thesis, Higher Education and Food Access: A Case Study of Food Access Initiatives and Their Community Impact¹, examined how institutional structures, community initiatives, and lived experience shape food access on a university campus. Through more than 200 hours of ethnographic fieldwork, I documented campus food systems, hunger relief efforts, and community-driven responses to food insecurity. Findings from this work informed institutional efforts to address food insecurity and reinforced my interest in how social systems and values shape decision-making.
[1] Wheaton, Rebecca. "Higher Education and Food Access: A Case Study of Food Access Initiatives and Their Community Impact." https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1795/. (2022).
[1] Wheaton, Rebecca. "Higher Education and Food Access: A Case Study of Food Access Initiatives and Their Community Impact." https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1795/. (2022).
Professional
Professional
I bring more than a decade of experience working across environmental nonprofits, education, agriculture and food systems, applied research, and community-based programs. Throughout my career, I have collaborated with nonprofits, county and state agencies, educators, practitioners, and community organizations to understand local needs, evaluate programs, and develop community-informed approaches to complex social and environmental challenges.
I bring more than a decade of experience working across environmental nonprofits, education, agriculture and food systems, applied research, and community-based programs. Throughout my career, I have collaborated with nonprofits, county and state agencies, educators, practitioners, and community organizations to understand local needs, evaluate programs, and develop community-informed approaches to complex social and environmental challenges.
My work has taken me across North Carolina, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, in roles ranging from environmental education and farm-based programming to research, program evaluation, and project management. These experiences have given me opportunities to work across different organizational and community settings, combining qualitative and mixed-methods research with facilitation, relationship-building, and the translation of research findings into information that organizations can use.
My work has taken me across North Carolina, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, in roles ranging from environmental education and farm-based programming to research, program evaluation, and project management. These experiences have given me opportunities to work across different organizational and community settings, combining qualitative and mixed-methods research with facilitation, relationship-building, and the translation of research findings into information that organizations can use.
Across these roles, a common thread has been a curiosity about how people understand and navigate the environments, institutions, and communities around them. Working outside of and alongside academia has also shaped my commitment to research that is attentive to context, grounded in relationships, and useful beyond scholarly audiences. I bring that applied perspective into my current work in environmental anthropology and human dimensions research, where it continues to shape how I approach research design, interdisciplinary collaboration, teaching, and public engagement.
Across these roles, a common thread has been a curiosity about how people understand and navigate the environments, institutions, and communities around them. Working outside of and alongside academia has also shaped my commitment to research that is attentive to context, grounded in relationships, and useful beyond scholarly audiences. I bring that applied perspective into my current work in environmental anthropology and human dimensions research, where it continues to shape how I approach research design, interdisciplinary collaboration, teaching, and public engagement.
Rebecca Quinn Wheaton
Anthropology PhD Candidate & Graduate Research Assistant
Applied Anthropology
Rebecca Quinn Wheaton
Anthropology PhD Candidate & Graduate Research Assistant
Applied Anthropology
Oregon State University
Oregon State University
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