About
My name is MICHELLE DUONG and I am an environmental warrior. From researching local animal communities to measuring and mapping global environmental change, working alongside academic researchers, non-profit organizations, and government, my mission has always been to improve outcomes for biodiversity.
To stand a chance against the effects of a rapidly changing, turbulent world, we need to conserve our natural assets. This means conserving our flora and fauna, healthy soils, and clean waterways. Widespread societal changes are needed, which I believe starts with lifting up our most vulnerable communities through empowerment and sustainable development. Currently, my efforts are focused on urban agriculture, food security, and sustainable development. My dream is to demonstrate that we can sustainably feed ourselves, starting one city at a time.
Who am I?
I am a Vietnamese Canadian, born and raised a city kid. Despite my parents’ best efforts, I find any excuse to be outside. I am a rock climber, hiker, birdwatcher, naturalist, and the opportunistic kayaker, surfer, and snowboarder.
I spent years working as a field biologist, which took me to incredible places around the world. From the montane forests of the Rocky Mountains, the fields of the American Midwest, the salt marshes of Louisiana, the woodlands of Tasmania, to the arid Australian outback. Let’s say I’ve rolled in a lot of dirt in a lot of different places.
The longest place I ever lived since I was a teenager is Connecticut, USA. I’ve spent the last 5 years at Yale University supporting global change research, making environmental information and technology available for diverse audiences, such as researchers, policy-makers, educators, and conservation managers. The next chapter of my life takes me to Sacramento, California, where I’ll stay for the foreseeable future. You can find me roaming the surrounding mountains with my dogs.
Goals
In this next chapter, I will be venturing outside of the non-profit arena as an entrepreneur, connecting business with environmental sustainability. I am particularly interested in urban agriculture, food security, and sustainable development. I believe that changing our food system is the key to realizing widespread behavioral change to support healthy economies and ecosystems.
Contrary to popular belief, profit and conservation are not mutually exclusive goals. I’m a millennial, and let’s face it, we’re focused on living with purpose. So let’s do this, let’s create purpose-driven enterprises and challenge the traditionally held beliefs that we must sell our souls in order to meet our life goals. Who’s with me?
Why food?
During my career as a conservationist, I focussed largely on the driving factors impacting species decline. From the regional to global scale, agriculture is a dominant and ever-present threat to biodiversity, posing both direct and indirect threats. Natural landscapes are converted to agriculture, which displaces native species and reduces the ability for remaining populations to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector account for at least 20% of global emissions, causing accelerated impacts from climate change.
Everyone understands food. It is a basic human requirement and it plays a crucial role in cultures and communities are often built around it. We are at a moment in history where we need widespread behavioral change, and what better way to do so than by reimagining our food system.
There are many challenges when facing the reality of the growing human population and its burgeoning demands on the Earth. My blog will cover an array of these challenges and more importantly provide some solutions that communities are employing and how we can shift our decisions towards a sustainable future. These concepts and issues make up the basis for why I see the private sector playing an important role in building this better future, and why I am in this space as an entrepreneur to support and demonstrate effective sustainable development practices.