My work is situated within environmental anthropology and political ecology. I explore the relationships between chagras (agroforestry plots), traditional knowledge, and livelihood diversification in the southern Colombian Amazon. My research integrates social-ecological systems theory, ethnobotany, and political ecology to support resilient agricultural systems that protect entanglements of agrobiodiversity, livelihoods, and knowledge. My interest in political ecology and community-led conservation arose from ethnographic fieldwork in Belize in 2018 that explored the motivating factors of conch piracy. Other research projects have included analysis of the connections between land-use change and food insecurity in Laos, and spatial analysis of narco-trafficking through Central America. Research Research Areas: Cultural Anthropology Selected Publications Selected Publications: Pitts, A.K. Trost, B, Trost, N, Hand, B & Margulies, J. (2022, 5 16). Learning with the seedbomb: on a classroom encounter with abolition ecology. Journal of Political Ecology 29(1):302–308. doi:10.2458/jpe.4715 LaFevor, M.C.; Pitts, A.K. Irrigation Increases Crop Species Diversity in Low-Diversity Farm Regions of Mexico. Agriculture 2022, 12, 911. https://doi.org/10.3390/ agriculture12070911 Grants Grants: Society for Ethnobotany Richard Evans Schultes Award Fall 2026 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) (2024-2029) Robert Rhoades Pre-Dissertation Travel Award Spring 2024 Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, Graduate Research Award Spring 2024 Center for Integrative Conservation Research Travel Award Spring 2024 University of Georgia Graduate School NSF Incentive Award Spring 2024 University of Georgia, Department of Anthropology Travel Award Fall 2023 Center for Integrative Conservation Research Conference Support Fall 2023 Center for Integrative Conservation Research Travel Award Summer 2023 Robert Rhoades Pre-dissertation Travel Award Summer 2023 University of Alabama, New College Conference Travel Support Spring 2020 Education Education: B.A. Anthropology, University of Alabama B.S. Conservation Ecology, University of Alabama
