Bio: Ivy Blackmore is a joint University of Rhode Island/Washington University in St Louis postdoctoral researcher based in St Louis, Missouri. As a postdoc, Ivy is focused on implementing an intervention in coastal Kenya that addresses malnutrition and its intersections with fisheries sustainability.
Her research interests include rural social-ecological interactions, integrative agrobiodiversity, subsistence food production systems, and the impact of women’s collectives on livelihood security.
Ivy earned a Ph.D. from Washington University in St Louis (2019), a Master of Public Policy from Duke University (2012) and a B.A. from Bowdoin College (2007). Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Ivy worked for the International Development Group at RTI International and served for two and a half years as a Peace Corps agriculture/food security extension agent in rural Nicaragua. Her time in Nicaragua and the experience of growing up on a small farm in upstate New York led to her interest in rural livelihood security issues and sustainable development in underserved places across the world.
Recent Publication: Small livestock and aquaculture programming impacts on household livelihood security: a systematic narrative review
Country Experience: Nicaragua, Ecuador
Curriculum Vitae: Ivy Blackmore_CV
Field Research: Ivy’s Ph.D. dissertation involved conducting a formative assessment of the vulnerability context of three indigenous subsistence farming communities in Guangaje, Ecuador.
Using mixed methods, the research aimed to (1) characterize population and resource trends (2) detail the seasonality of food availability, employment opportunities, and illness and (3) assess household asset accumulation and perceptions of household well-being. The dissertation work is funded by a Brown School International Dissertation Award and the Washington University Institute for Public Health and Center for Dissemination and Implementation Pilot Program.
