Jackson Hart

MPS, Global Development

Grand challenge: Environmental sustainability of agriculture; food sovereignty and economic independence in smallholder farming communities; optimization of controlled environment agriculture

Connect: jth275 [at] cornell.edu (jth275[at]cornell[dot]edu) | LinkedIn

Jackson Hart is the Graduate Assistant for the Cornell Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, an MPS Global Development graduate student, and a student researcher for Professor Mario Herrero. As the Humphrey Fellows’ Graduate Assistant, Jackson works to maximize the experience of Humphrey Fellows through the design and implementation of networking and social events. He also manages community outreach efforts for the program.

Jackson Hart has a concentration in International Agriculture and Rural Agriculture. He is interested in learning how to lower the barriers to entry to controlled environment agriculture and hydroponics in developing countries. Jackson works with Professor Mario Herrero’s “Wild Futures” research team. The team is producing a predictive analysis of the most disruptive technologies and accompanying policies within the scope of climate-smart agriculture and equitable food access for smallholder agriculture communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The team’s research is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Jackson also assists Professor Neil Mattson in maintaining ongoing hydroponic greenhouse experiments in Mattson Lab and Professor Chris Barret in generating a research methodology for the UN FAO’s Agri-food Systems Technologies and Innovations Outlook (ATIO) report. 

Jackson received a B.A. in Community Studies from the University of California - Santa Cruz in 2012. He has spent the last decade working in project design, program management, grant writing, farm management, and teaching for numerous nonprofit organizations focusing on sustainable agriculture, environmental conservation, or public health. He served as a Food Security Specialist for the Peace Corps in Nepal (2017-2018) and an AmeriCorps VISTA Leader at Aloha United Way in Hawaii (2019). He has also raised over $2.5 million through grant funding and fundraising efforts for small-scale nonprofit organizations. After graduating from Cornell, Jackson intends to work with international development organizations at the intersections of climate-resilient agriculture, rural development, and education.