MEMBERS

The Soil Health & Agroecological Living Lab’s success is driven by the skills, dedication, and collaborative spirit of its members. We are a multidisciplinary collective of passionate scientists, students, and staff committed to agroecological living and enhancing the well-being of farmers and vitality of rural communities across Wisconsin and beyond.

Lab Leads

Dr. Michael M. Bell

Philip David Lowe Professor, Department of Community & Environmental Sociology

Michael Bell is the Philip David Lowe and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Department of Community & Environmental Sociology, as well as a faculty associate in Environmental Studies, Religious Studies, and Agroecology. Bell is the author or editor of eleven books, three of which have won national awards, with a 12th book in press. His most recent books are City of the Good: Nature, Religion, and the Ancient Search for What Is Right (Princeton, 2018), the Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology (Cambridge, 2020), the 6th edition of Invitation to Environmental Sociology (Sage, 2021), and the 2nd edition of Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability (Penn State Press, 2024). His work focuses on environmental sociology, agroecology, and community. He is the co-founder and former chair of Madison’s Agroecology Program.

Dr. Rachel M. Gurney

Faculty Associate, Department of Community & Environmental Sociology

Rachel Gurney is an interdisciplinary sociologist with a BA in journalism, an MS in environmental science, and a PhD in sociology. Her research explores the intersections of public opinion, rural well-being, and environmental politics, with a current focus on analyzing farmer survey data. Her recent work investigates how agricultural identity, trust, and shared values influence sustainable practices—particularly surrounding dairy production, soil health, and land stewardship across farmer groups. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, Gurney’s work emphasizes transdisciplinary collaboration to foster both academic insight and practical solutions to complex environmental challenges.

Faculty Associates

Dr. Sarah Janes Ugoretz

Faculty Associate, Department of Community & Environmental Sociology

Sarah Janes Ugoretz is an applied social scientist with a dual BA in Latin American Studies and Political Science, an MA in Sustainable International Development, and a PhD in Environment and Resources. With a research emphasis on farm labor, Janes Ugoretz works closely with diversified vegetable farmers to support their social and economic outcomes. In addition to building interpersonal skills and workplace environments, this work also includes collaborating with farmers to ensure their soil health practices align with and promote safe labor experiences that ultimately support worker satisfaction and labor retention. Her programming often centers around peer-to-peer training and knowledge sharing.

Dr. Sarah Lloyd

Faculty Associate, Department of Community & Environmental Sociology

Sarah Lloyd farms with her husband, Nels Nelson, in Wisconsin Dells. They are currently in transition from a multi-family dairy farm to new agricultural enterprises and conservation pursuits on their land. She works off-farm on value chain coordination for the Soil Health & Agroecological Living Lab as part of the Lab’s Food Is Medicine work at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sarah also works on social sustainability indicator development in regenerative systems transformation with the University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative. She has been working for over ten years supporting the development of the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, a farmer-led co-op owned by the farmers and the Wisconsin Farmers Union. Sarah has a PhD in Sociology/Rural Sociology from UW-Madison and a Masters in Rural Development from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, with a focus on participatory action research. Sarah is active in the Wisconsin Farmers Union, serving as President of her local county chapter and Co-Chair of the state Dairy Committee. She is also the President of the Board of the Wormfarm Institute.

Research Associate

Dr. Morgan T. Robinson

Research Associate, Department of Community & Environmental Sociology

Morgan Robinson is an interdisciplinary social scientist with a BA in Women’s Studies and an MS and PhD in Environment and Resources. Morgan is currently interested in how soil health practices intersect with the health and well-being of farmers, farmworkers, and farm families on dairy farms in Wisconsin. She is particularly concerned with connections between reproductive and environmental health issues, including gendered labor in agriculture, social supports for farm families, and access to reproductive healthcare in rural spaces.

Project Assistant

Forrest Humphrey

Master’s Student, Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences

Forrest is a first year student in the Agroecology MS program. He grew up in rural southwest Wisconsin and graduated from Antioch College in 2015 with a fine arts degree. Forrest has spent the better part of the last decade as a cook, organizer, and food systems advocate, organizing all over the Midwest. His primary research interests include soil health, and labor issues in organic vegetable production.