Chris Mantegna (she/her) is a non-traditional student working on her third act as a graduate student in the Roberts Lab at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. As a former healthcare worker and sailor with the U.S. Navy she already had a lifetime of amazing - but she’s not through yet. She serves as the Co-Chair of the BWEEMS Mentorship program and more than 10 years of experience in designing and implementing programs that support individual growth and achievement. Chris’ passion is fulfilled beyond belief as she moves forward with the first ever cohort of Black women mentoring Black women. The BWEEMS Mentorship program is smashing barriers, holding space, and growing to the best version of ourselves. 

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Dr. Lisa Price specialized in food systems, farming, food security, gender, agrobiodiversity, ethnobiology, and methodology development. Her research interests are primarily at the interface of human culture, specifically gender, and the food environment. The approach she takes in the research she conducts is grounded in how people conceptualize the food environment, how they reason their actions, and their perceptions of the outcomes of their actions. Her geographic area of specialization is Mainland Southeast Asia, although her experience covers many countries in Asia and Africa as well as North America and the Pacific. Her interest in the human/environment interface also includes how men and women (or children) in a given culture conceptualize aspects of the food environment and environmental phenomena and how this is linked to their actions. This interest is exemplified by her research in the area of ethno - entomology and ethno- pedology and her recent work on marine environments. Importantly, Dr. Price has years of experience in mentorship and was a former Associate Dead charged with faculty success. 

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Meaza Demissie leads TNC’s Science Professional Skills Development program. The program provides targeted soft and technical skills training to TNC’s researchers and scientists. Prior to joining TNC, Meaza has a long career working in international non-governmental organizations and an international institution. For five years she worked at the World Bank Group, supporting regional and countrywide higher education programs in West and East African countries. Prior to joining the Word Bank, she was a Program Manager for higher education and science capacity building programs at CRDF Global, an organization dedicated to building science and research capacity in low and middle income countries. While at CRDF Global, she managed STEM education and institution building projects funded by the U.S. government, multinational organizations and foundations, and implemented in Eastern European and sub-Saharan African countries. She also worked with a leading hunger and poverty advocacy organization, Bread for the World Institute, supporting its’ flagship annual publication - The Hunger Report. Meaza is an Adjunct Professor at Catholic University of America’s Department of Economics and teaches Global Education and Community Development to graduate students pursuing a Master’s degree in Integral Economic Development. She has a PH.D. in International Economic Development, a Master’s in Non-Governmental Organizations Management focus, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations. 

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