Barituka Bekee, Post Doctoral Associate, Community Development and Applied Economics
Barituka Bekee joins UVM from the University of Missouri where he co-directed the Deaton Scholars Program, and obtained his PhD in agricultural and applied economics, as well as a certificate in society and sustainability. He will be working under Dr. Joe Ament on a project that is focused on measuring the social dimensions of food systems sustainability.
As a researcher, Bekee conducts interdisciplinary research on various issues relating to agricultural and rural development, ranging from farmers’ adoption of digital agricultural technologies to the livelihood resilience of rural households in the Altiplano region of Bolivia.
Bekee holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics. Prior to graduate studies, he worked at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria, where he helped design novel initiatives that aimed at productively engaging young people along agricultural value-chains in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ursula Georgeoglou, Community Health Worker II, Extension Migrant Health & Education
Originally from Uruguay, Ursula Georgeoglou grew up in the dry border of Brazil. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English. While living in Brazil, she earned a bachelor of science degree in biology and in education. She also holds a master’s degree in botany with specialization in ecology. She serves as a steering committee member of the Champlain Adirondack Biosphere Network, and she is a member of the Planetary Health Alliance.
Before this position, Georgeoglou worked for the UVM Department of Education supporting graduate programs. She also worked for the Rubenstein School of Environment and the Gund Institute as a coordinator for the UVM side of a bi-national partnership with McGill University, in a PhD program called Leadership for the Ecozoic (L4E). She also taught at the University of the Campanha Region- URCAMP in Brazil, at Champlain College in Burlington, VT, and worked as a research assistant for the Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative at UVM.
Georgeoglou lives with her two wonderful daughters and her husband in Essex Junction, VT. She is interested in bioregionalism education, practice, and policy with the goal of fostering conservation, human wellbeing, and social justice.
More New Hires
- Leopoldo (Leo) Ruiz, Community Health Worker I, Extension Migrant Health & Education
- Katalin Larsen, Microbiology Technician, Ecology & Agritourism, Nutrition and Food Sciences
- Somaiyeh Ghasemzadeh, Post Doctoral Associate, Plant and Soil Science