With more than ten years’ of research focused in Vanuatu, Chelsea Wentworth has been trying to conquer the problem of global food insecurity among children. An alumna of MSU’s Honors College (2007), Chelsea came back to East Lansing professionally in 2019 to focus on her community-engaged research as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Sustainability (CSUS).

“MSU provides an invigorating experience with the collaboration between faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students who think about very innovative topics from very different vantage points,” said Chelsea. “Research should be able to improve lives, provide the community with answers to questions that are important to them, and help them achieve their goals.”

Since joining CSUS, Chelsea has affiliated with a variety of units across campus, including the Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen). As a core Associated Faculty/Staff (AFS) member, Chelsea has leveraged her connection with GenCen to strengthen her research projects in both Port Vila, Vanuatu and Flint, Michigan. Namely, in 2020, she and a colleague—Krista Isaacs of the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences—applied for a GenCen Strategic Partnership Grant (SPG) to build new, long-term partnerships in Vanuatu that focused on understanding women’s use of urban gardening to battle food insecurity.

GenCen is now accepting Strategic Partnership Grant applications for 2021. Learn more and apply for funding by January 31, 2021.