Study Staff Members
Responsive Agriculture Study
Study Staff Members
Natalie Burdsall
Natalie Burdsall
Natalie Burdsall joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2022 as the Communications Officer for the Center on Global Food and Agriculture. In this role, they promote the work and impact of the Center to expand public engagement in global food and agriculture, and assist in bringing the Council’s digital transformation to fruition. Prior to joining the Council, she served as a communications intern for the non-profit Art Works Projects for Human Rights, and the Arabic tutor and American Sign Language coach for Loyola University Chicago. Additionally, they worked as a tutor for students with disabilities in the Chicago area. As a CODA, Burdsall’s first language is American Sign Language, and they are also proficient in spoken and written Arabic. She graduated summa cum laude from Loyola University Chicago with BAs in global studies and communication studies.
Heather kreidler
Heather Kreidler
Heather Kreidler, M.S., is the Owner of Fact or Fiction, LLC specializing in academic fact checking and research for a variety of clients including universities, nonprofits, businesses, publishers, and independent authors. She has over fifteen years of experience working across scientific domains to advance research to inform evidence-based policies. She currently serves as a consultant for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Environmental Change and Society and the Board on Human-Systems Integration where she worked from 2008 and 2019. In this role, she contributed to or managed a range of projects, activities, reports, and other products. Topic areas included food and nutrition, worker safety and safety culture, social and behavioral sciences, and environmental issues. Ms. Kreidler received a B.S. in business management from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and an M.S. in environmental science and policy from George Mason University.
camryn lopez
Camryn Lopez
Camryn Lopez joined the Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture as an Associate Program Officer in 2023. Her role allows her to assist in the research and writing components of the Responsive Agriculture Study. Prior to this position, she served as a Community Health Educator for a smoking cessation and prevention program, Project Filter. Additionally, she taught health courses for undergraduate students rooted in public health principles. She recently graduated with a Master of Public Health from Boise State University, to work in conjunction with a BS in Microbiology from Kansas State University.
peggy tsai yih
Peggy Tsai Yih
Peggy Tsai Yih is the Managing Director of the Center on Global Food and Agriculture at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Since joining the Council in 2020, she has managed the Center’s evidence-based research and analyses and advocacy efforts in global food and nutrition security. Previously, she served in various capacities at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC for nearly 15 years. As a senior program officer with the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources at the National Academies, Peggy worked with the nation’s foremost experts to provide research, analysis, and policy advice on complex challenges in food and agriculture. Peggy has a MA in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from George Washington University, and a BS in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
toby warden
Toby Warden
Toby Warden, Ph.D., is the Principal of Toby Warden Consulting, LLC specializing in strategy and operations design and implementation for complex science-based initiatives. Previously, she was Director of Membership and Engagement at BioMADE where she launched and managed the 4S Program (Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility). As a social science strategist, her interest areas include the intersection of science and society, human-centered design, organizational performance, and complex adaptive systems and she has over 25 years of experience working for mission-driven organizations. She served as director of two social sciences units: Environmental Change and Society; and Human-Systems Integration for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). She also made social science contributions to over 30 NASEM publications. Previously, she spent nearly a decade working to address health and economic disparities in Boston at the community level. She earned a Ph.D. in Social Ecology, with an emphasis in Environmental Analysis and Design, from the University of California, Irvine.