Matthew Licina is a senior in the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems B.S. major under the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Per his appointment on the Internal Steering Committee of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, Matthew aids the team in addressing programmatic challenges and assessing new opportunities for the Institute. Matthew's research focuses on the cooperative organizational structure and planning for healthy communities. He researches under the direction of Dr. Keith Taylor in the Department of Human Ecology. Matthew is interested in community economic development and is a leader of the Community Economies Collaborative at UC Davis. He enjoys a systems perspective when addressing change and is adept at identifying leverage points. Matthew is an artist and designer who creates public art installations which serve as a cultural critique of the animal agriculture industry. Before his studies at UC Davis, Matthew was a chef and farmer working in Restaurant Supported Agriculture in the The Napa Valley. Matt graduated with honors from The Culinary Institute of America in 2014. He hiked over 1,400 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2017. He has knowledge in heritage breed conservation, heirloom and micro green crop production, and community supported agriculture. He is excited to graduate from UC Davis in June of 2019 and is currently seeking employment in the Midwest.