2025 Kaufman Lab Fellow
Haley Traun
The Kaufman Lab honors 1 team member each year with the award, recognizing leadership, integrity, and commitment to community-based change—values embodied by our namesake, Jerry Kaufman. Our 2025 Fellow is Haley Traun!
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Plant Forward Storyfest Competition Finalist
Olivia Nygaard
Biology and Life Sciences Communication undergraduate student, Olivia Nygaard, created a social video promoting farmers markets and how they contribute to community health and sustainable food systems. Her submission is called “Farmers markets: Food that’s close to home”.
2025 Distinguished Recent Graduate Awardee
Dantrell Cotton
Kaufman Lab alum, POSSE Scholar, and community & environmental sociology major, Dantrell’s journey from researching food justice with Monica White at UW–Madison to earning dual master’s degrees at UW and Harvard showcases his commitment to leadership, equity, and impact.
Hilldale Fellowship
Nolan Hegge
Cartography and Geographic Information Systems, Data Science, and Environmental Studies undergraduate student, Nolan Hegge, received a Hilldale Fellowship for Undergraduate Research under the advisory of the lab’s founder, Alfonso Morales. Nolan is an invaluable contributor to the lab as Lead Software Developer and Research Assistant.
CIAS Summer Research Award
Liz Khomenkov
Liz Khomenkov received a grant from the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) to conduct research with direct-to-market farmers this summer. She will be working one-on-one with farmers, interviewing them about the Ecosystem Services Tool and encouraging & compensating them for using it at markets.