Alison Blay-Palmer, the UNESCO Chair in Food Biodiversity and Sustainability Studies, is the founding Director for the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and a Professor in Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research and teaching combine her passions for sustainable food systems and community viability through civil society engagement and innovative governance. Alison collaborates with academics and practitioners across Canada and internationally including partners in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. This work gained recognition in both 2012 and 2019 when her partnership was one of three nominees for a national SSHRC Partnership Impact Award. Other on-going research projects with partners and students include: City Region Food System, Climate Resilience with the Resources Centre on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); and food security, health and climate change in the Northwest Territories. Alison has been a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists since 2016.