Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz

I bring visibility and understanding to food systems issues in Puerto Rico and beyond through science and storytelling. My work has taken me from labs to classrooms, and from fisheries to farms and forests. I draw from my multifaceted background and cultural identity to inform my transdisciplinary and participatory approaches as an applied scientist and writer. Broadly, my work explores social-ecological interactions in relation to agricultural sustainability, vulnerability to natural hazards, and public health outcomes, in the context of the climate crisis.

I have over 7 years of experience leading and designing interdisciplinary research projects, and have worked in the academic, governmental, and non-governmental sectors. Currently, I am working as an independent scientist and consultant providing services to diverse organizations and audiences through workshops, collaborative research design and application, data analysis, and policy advisory. You can find my research in open-access journals, and my bylines in El Nuevo Día, NextCity, 80grados, Science, among others. “Al otro lado”, my new collection of short stories, was published in March 2023. I write a weekly Newsletter, La Fiambrera (lunchbox), where I pack food systems news and events, and essays that intersect my love for food systems, Puerto Rican food culture, and research. You can know more about me and my works at www.luisalexis.com. Find me on twitter and Instagram: @unjuanadino.

I hold a PhD in food systems from the University of Vermont, a MS in food science and technology and a BS in biology from the Mayagüez and Ponce campuses of the University of Puerto Rico, respectively. I am a 2023 Public Voices fellow on the Climate Crisis with the OpEd Project in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. I also have received fellowships and awards from The Grist, Ciencia Puerto Rico, COMPASS Science Communication, the University of Vermont, and others.