How Alice Sullivan ’22 is advocating for equity in global supply chains

What inspired you to pursue an education and career in agricultural development? 

I’ve always believed strongly in the value of citizen science and the need for community-based environmental leadership. In high school, I became the youngest certified Texas Master Naturalist. As a Texas Master Naturalist, I helped restore a Golden Cheeked Warbler habitat and organized bilingual outreach to elementary schools.

My interests led me to agriculture, and in the summer of 2017 I lived on a Paraguayan beef and soybean farm through the Texas-based nonprofit Amigos de las Américas. Living with my indigenous Guaraní host family in rural South America taught me the implications of neoliberal agricultural systems on smallholder farmers. Prior to knowing what “neoliberal,” “regenerative agriculture” or “community-based development” was, I grappled with how unequal access to markets and collapsing crop systems impacted smallholders.

I sought an undergraduate experience that would give me the technical skills and global experiences to help solve issues such as climate change. Ultimately, that is why I chose CALS and the training within international agriculture and rural development.

What has been a research opportunity that has made an impact on your career path?

During my second year at Cornell, I took part in the Global Citizenship and Sustainability program led by professor Shorna Allred. This research learning opportunity gave me the chance to travel to Malaysian Borneo to learn about indigenous place-based knowledge. From discussions with my indigenous Penan host family in Sarawak, I learned about the global palm-oil industry and its detrimental effects on Bornean rainforests and indigenous communities.

Engaged learning is a cornerstone of Global Development. Tell us about your engaged learning experience in the department.

I worked as a finance and investment intern with the Millennium Challenge Corporation. MCC has invested $13 billion since 2004 in nearly 40 countries across the Global South. The purpose of the organization is to implement cross-functional stakeholder investments to revolutionize benefit-risk frameworks and return on investment for U.S. foreign aid. My engaged learning experience allowed me to focus on how to utilize blended finance tools to catalyze public-private partnerships investments.

My research was on impact investments in Malawi, specifically on identifying top agricultural exports, mapping geolocations, and discovering more on growth corridors and best practices for Foreign Direct Investment. With a goal to reduce poverty through economic growth, I explored which regions were strategic for export potential for agricultural growth, processors, and producers, and purchasing power. 

What did you take away from the engaged learning experience?

My semester-long project with the Finance & Investment division at MCC gave me the opportunity to gain a breadth of knowledge of global supply chains. I learned about the complexity of climate, geopolitical, and economic challenges at hand. I was able to delve into the cross-functional collaboration — between corporation, financiers, and governments — necessary for effective innovation in our global supply chains.