Julia Brokaw
Entomology, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellow at the IAS, 2020–2021

Uprooting Assumptions in Pollinator Policy

As an IAS fellow funded by the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship, I will be working with Dr. Kathy Quick on a project to explore the intersections between wild bee ecology, community-led pollinator initiatives, and policy analysis. This work aims to highlight and explore pollinator-protection initiatives and policies that generate community building and how they can translate into equitable policy making. Given the rise in enthusiasm and funding for pollinator protection and the apolitical framing around building pollinator habitat, I aim to examine whether these policies inadvertently follow patterns of power or oppression inherent to various policymaking processes in order to better advocate for both people and pollinators. Most of my research and background focuses on wild bee ecology and prairie restoration science and I am eager to better understand the social and political dimensions of pollinator conservation.  

This series features an IAS Residential Fellow—a Faculty Fellow, Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellow, or Community of Scholars Fellow. Each profile is written by the participant as a way to share their projects, goals, and experiences as part of their time at the IAS.