Wondering what you can do with a Sustainable Food Systems degree? Join the ASU Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems for our first career panel on Friday, April 2nd, from 1-2pm AZ via Zoom. This event will give students a better understanding of their career options after graduation and how to achieve their career goals. This panel will be especially beneficial for current or prospective students who are interested in pursuing a career within food systems, sustainability, or agribusiness. We are honored to have panelists with experience in private, non-profit, and government organizations. The speakers will share stories of how they built their job paths and offer insights into current trends in the field. For more information on the panelists, read their biographies below.
To attend this event, please RSVP by filling out this google form. A zoom link will be emailed to you after you register.
Sharma Torrens: Sharma received her B.S. in Ecology from ASU, and began her career as a wildlife biologist. She then attended Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego and she received her J.D, followed by a career in general civil litigation in CA, AZ and DC. Before long she decided to pivot back to her interests in natural resources, and became the Land and Water Program Manager for AZ Land and Water Trust, a nonprofit that works to conserve agriculture and open spaces with conservation easements and other tools. She has also held positions with the AZ Department of Agriculture (AZDA), beginning as the Legislative Liaison/Research Policy Analyst and then as the Marketing Manager. Currently she is the Conservation Education Director for the AZ Assn. of Conservation Districts (AACD), a nonprofit that supports and promotes the 42 Arizona Natural Resource Conservation Districts (NRCDs). NRCDs are made up of farmers, ranchers and other volunteers that conserve our food supply, as well as wildlife habitat, migratory corridors, water, soil, etc., working with agencies and other entities to get conservation funds and with the private landowners to get conservation work on the ground.
Annalise VanVranken: Annalise VanVranken is the Strategy & Partnerships Project Manager at FoodCorps, a national non-profit and AmeriCorps program working to connect kids to healthy food in school, so they can lead healthier lives and reach their full potential. Annalise’s work is focused on supporting FoodCorps’ policy, government and strategic partnerships, along with supply chain and school meals initiatives. Annalise was brought to this role after two years of FoodCorps service and three years as the Massachusetts Program Coordinator, leading a cohort of twenty-two service members, along with their schools and sites, to create direct impact and leverage farm-to-school and food equity initiatives across the state. Annalise hold her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Sociology with a minor in Sustainability from Wells College. While currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, Annalise was born and raised in southern New Jersey, where the Garden State inspired her love of food and the people that produce it.
Lisa Vongchingtrong: Lisa Vongchingtrong is an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School with a background in retail and food innovation. She majored in Economics at Washington University in St. Louis and began her career at Target headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There, she started as a business analyst in supply chain and demand planning roles across a variety of food and beverage categories. Most recently, she worked as a Trend Insights Manager where she worked on food & beverage trend insights for merchandising and private label brands (including product ideation for Target’s flagship private label food brand, Good & Gather). She spent last summer doing a pre-MBA internship at Ocean Spray Cranberries (a cranberry farmer co-op) working on innovation strategy across their emerging and legacy brands. Lisa also serves as a judge for the Food & Beverage division of Minnesota Cup, the state’s regional start up competition.