Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness Promotion – The University of North Carolina at Asheville
Graduate Institution and Major: Master of Science in Public Health in Health Education and Health Communication – Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Research interests: My research interests center on agrifood system policy and governance, with a particular emphasis on procedural equity in agrifood policy processes. I am interested in understanding how food producers can play a central role in shaping strong local and regional food systems while critically examining the barriers to their civic engagement associated with the growing consolidation of the agrifood system and the economic pressures of farming.
Relevant professional experience:
2022-2024 – Graduate Research Assistant, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
2022-2024 – Graduate Research Assistant, Johns Hopkins Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Publications:
Thomas A., L, Lewis E.C., Poirier L., Williamson S., Xie Y., Lightner A., Gittelsohn J. Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to Direct-to-Retail Sales Channels: Farmers' Perspectives on Wholesaling Produce to Small Food Retailers in Charles County, Maryland. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. [In press].
Hua S., Tucker A.C., Santos S.R., Thomas A.E., Mui Y., Velez-Burgess V., Poirier L., Cheskin L.J., Matsuzaki M., Williamson S., Colon-Ramos U., Gittelsohn J. (2024). The Quality of Menu Offerings in Independently Owned Restaurants in Baltimore, Maryland: Results from Mixed-Methods Formative Research for the FRESH Trial. Nutrients, 16(10), 1524. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16101524
Thomas, A.E. (2022). Developing an Evidence-Based Nutrition Curriculum for Correctional Settings. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.1089/jchc.20.04.0028
Batada, A., & Thomas, A. E. (2021). Soft drinks and premiums with children’s meals marketed on the websites of the top restaurant chains worldwide. Public Health Nutrition, 24(11), 3437–3441. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980021001646
Batada, A., Thomas, A. E., & Holtz, D. N. (2021). Utilizing a Data-to-Action Approach to Cultivate Policy Research and Advocacy Skills in Community-Engaged Health Promotion Courses. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 00(0), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/23733799211035812
Mahoney, M. H., Mathews, L. G., & Thomas, A. E. (2021). Springsteen-omics: Contemplative pedagogy and Springsteen in undergraduate economics courses. The Journal of Economic Education, 52(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2021.2004274
Honors and Awards:
Early Offer Eminent Scholar Fellowship, The Ohio State University, 2024-2027
This commentary is intended as an addendum and recent update to the original research article published in World Affairs, “The High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina: The Unusual Institutional Arrangement of a Non-Authoritarian, yet Controlled, Democracy”