Amy Lerner is an environmental social scientist with three interdisciplinary degrees, all of which incorporated training in social and natural sciences and in qualitative and quantitative methodologies. She has focused my research and professional training mostly in Latin America, where she has worked for over 20 years in ecotourism (Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru) and in research (Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico). Originally from Long Beach, California, Lerner has spent many years learning about the nature of human and environment relationships, particularly as they pertain to agriculture in expanding urban contexts, sustainable agricultural methods, and green infrastructure. She pursued these topics through an undergraduate degree in Human Biology (Stanford University), master’s degree in Environmental Studies (Brown University), and PhD in Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She continued my training in post-doctoral research positions in Geography and Human Ecology at Rutgers University, and in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy Program (now C-PREE) within the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Lerner also held non-academic positions in farm, garden, and environmental education (mostly in California – See Hidden Villa and Slide Ranch).

During her first faculty position as an Assistant Research Professor in the National Laboratory for Sustainability Science, within the Ecology Institute at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, she worked on several projects with graduate students and colleagues about natural resource management in informal areas (water and waste), the possibilities to preserve or encourage agriculture in the peri-urban interface, the tensions with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in indigenous communities, the dimensions of urban resilience, and the opportunities for City-University Partnerships for sustainability. She is an avid organic gardener, guitar strummer, baker and stewer, and lover of nature walks.