<p>
	Laura Meitzner Yoder received her B.S. from Messiah College, M.S. in Rural Development from Cornell University, and her PhD in Social Ecology from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She also conducted her dissertation research in the fledgling nation of East Timor/Timor Leste (2001-2004).</p>
<p>
	Laura has spent many years working with agricultural development in the highlands of Ecuador and Honduras, followed by an extended chapter in Southeast Asia. She taught in field-based research training programs at state universities in Papua (1998-2000) and post-tsunami Aceh (2005-08), Indonesia. She has taught undergraduates with experiential environmental education programs in northwestern Thailand (2009-11) and Bhutan (2012), including serving as a Senior Fellow with the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Yoder is committed to initiatives that build people&rsquo;s fullness of life, combining thoughtful resource use and people&rsquo;s abilities to provide for basic needs. In her early studies in biology and tropical agriculture, this took shape with a focus on biodiversity and sustainable food production in marginal growing conditions. Living and working with forest dwellers and subsistence farmers piqued her interest in the circumstances that constrain their livelihoods.</p>
