Natasha Fernández-Preston
Personal Profile
Natasha Fernández-Preston, the present Executive Director of Dare to Strive, is a historical anthropologist and archaeologist whose research focuses on food and social justice. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she witnessed firsthand the issues surrounding local food access. As a result, she dedicated her research to exploring how a historical, in-depth understanding can contribute to changing present-day dynamics for better futures.
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Dare to Strive was born out of the need to contribute to furthering our vision for better futures through programs dedicated to food sovereignty, food justice, and community self-reliance.
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Education
2018-2024
University California, Berkeley
Ph.D. in Anthropology, Emphasis in Archaeology
Berkeley Food Institute Graduate Certificate in Food Systems
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow
Society of Ethnobiology Urban Ethnobiology Fellow
2017-2018
University California, Berkeley
M.A. in Anthropology, Emphasis in Archaeology
2012-2017
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
B.A. in Anthropology, Emphasis in Archaeology
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow