Isabella Rennie Kenfield: Resume

Born and raised in New Jersey, Isabella Kenfield first discovered the centrality of agrarian reform in the context of development when she studied abroad in South Africa through the Rutgers University, when she wrote her honors thesis on land reform policy in post-apartheid South Africa.

After graduating from Rutgers with a B.A. in anthropology and journalism in 1998, she lived in Washington DC for two years, where she worked at two large international development NGOs. Her DC experience was important to Ms. Kenfield´s politicization, providing her with an understanding of the neoliberal development model that emerged from the Washington Consensus.

In 2002 Ms. Kenfield entered the Community Development department at the University of California, Davis to obtain her masters degree. She returned to South Africa in 2004 to conduct research for her thesis on farm worker equity share schemes for land redistribution, a World Bank-inspired, and USAID-funded, land reform model. At the same time as her research heightened her politicization of mainstream land reform policies, she learned about the Brazilian Movement of the Landless Rural Workers (MST) and became impassioned with the concepts of the social function of property, and non-violent land occupations. At UC Davis she also worked for the UC Small Farm Program, which heightened her understanding of how agrarian reform and sustainable food systems are inseparable, as well as the growing threat of agribusiness worldwide. While in California, she entered the Oakland-based Friends of the MST, and began working directly with the MST on its Bionatur agroecological seed production initiative.

In 2005, Ms. Kenfield went to Brazil for the first time, and in 2006 returned to Brazil for the third time with the intent to build a life there. She currently resides in Curitiba, Paraná, working as a freelance journalist and as a volunteer with the NGOs and social movements engaged in the struggle for agrarian reform. With Terra de Direitos, she coordinated the International Campaign to Support the Via Campesina Occupation of Syngenta, and pressure for its expropriation. A decree to expropriate Syngenta´s site was signed by Governor Requião on November 9, 2006. She has also published various articles related to Syngenta, agrarian reform, the social movements, etc. Isabella Rennie Kenfield Rua José de Alencar, 578 Bairro Cristo Rei, CEP 80050-240 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil Isabella@kenfield.us / 55.041.9682.6558 Professional Experience 7/06 – Pres. Freelance Journalist, Curitiba, Brazil

  • Write articles about agribusiness, rural development, agrarian conflicts and social movements;
  • Recipient of the 2006 Samuel Chavkin Investigative Journalism Award, administered by the North American Congress on Latin America, to write an article about Aracruz Celulose S.A. 3/06 – 12/06 Terra de Direitos, Curitiba, Brazil Volunteer Campaign Coordinator:
  • Coordinated international campaign to build solidarity and support for the Paraná state government’s expropriation of the Syngenta corporation’s experimental test site in Brazil (on Nov. 9 2006 Governor Requião signed a decree to expropriate the site);
  • Wrote mass emails communicating updates on, and urgent actions for, the Via Campesina occupation of Syngenta and the effort to have it expropriated;
  • Built and managed campaign distribution list;
  • Secured support for the campaign from over 85 organizations and entities around the world;
  • Researched, wrote and translated a report on the history and development of Syngenta;
  • Translated press releases and human rights abuse denunciations from Portuguese to English;
  • Participated in the U.N.’s 8th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, March 2006, Curitiba, Brazil. 9/02 – 7/06 University of California Small Farm Program, Davis CA Junior Specialist:
  • Researched and wrote comprehensive report on the viability of small producers in California’s emerging artisan olive oil industry;
  • Researched and wrote articles for California Agventures, Small Farm News, and Women in Agriculture, integrating issues important to the viability of small farmers in California, including direct sales, value-adding, organics, agritourism and labor management;
  • Photographed events, local farms, farmers;
  • Wrote proposals for funding opportunities and awards nominations;
  • Coordinated the redesign and printing of Small Farm Program informational brochure;
  • Attended the FAO International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, and civil society’s parallel Land, Livelihood and Dignity Forum in March 2006, Porto Alegre, Brazil. 3/03 – 7/06. Friends of the MST, Berkeley CA Volunteer:
  • Primary U.S. contact for Bionatur, the agroecological seed production project founded by the Brazilian Movement of the Landless Rural Workers (MST).
  • Liaised between Bionatur and foundations in the U.S. and United Kingdom, including translating correspondence, communications, funding proposals and loan agreements.
  • Wrote proposals on behalf of Bionatur to U.S. foundations;
  • Coordinated visits to Bionatur, and acted as translator.
  • Represented the Friends at the 2005 World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Visited Bionatur headquarters and MST settlements and schools producing seeds for Bionatur. 2/01 – 6/02 Academy for Educational Development, Washington D.C. Project Assistant, Center for Social Marketing and Behavior Change 10/99 – 2/01 ACCIÓN International, Washington D.C. Publications Assistant and Office Manager 8/98 - 11/98 Association for Rural Advancement, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Intern 1/98 - 8/98 Center for the Analysis of Public Issues (CAPI), Princeton NJ CAPI monitors social, economic, political and environmental issues in New Jersey. Intern, Assistant Editor and Staff Writer Education 9/02 – 12/04 University of California at Davis, Davis CA M.S. Community Development
  • Master’s Thesis: Farm Worker Equity Share Schemes for Land Redistribution in South Africa: An Examination of Policy and Paternalism in the Context of Social Capital;
  • Winter ’04 in Western Cape, South Africa, conducting graduate thesis research;
  • Jastro Shields Graduate Research Scholarship for research in South Africa. 9/94 – 12/98 Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick NJ BA Journalism and Anthropology
  • Mabel Smith Douglass Scholars Honors; Departmental Honors in Anthropology; Golden Key National Honors Society;
  • Honor’s Thesis in Anthropology: Land Reform in the Republic of South Africa: a Case-Study of the Impendle State Land Redistribution Project;
  • Bigel Fellowship in Anthropology; Eleanor Mitchell Memorial Scholarship; Mabel Smith Douglass Scholars scholarship; Douglas Alumni Special Funds;
  • Final semester at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa;
  • Staff Writer for Rutgers Daily Targum. Selected Published Articles “Brazil's Ethanol Plan Breeds Rural Poverty, Environmental Degradation.” IRC Americas. March 2007 “The Struggle for the Expropriation of Syngenta: Showdown Between the Social Movements and Agribusiness in Brazil.” Z-Net. January 2007. “Brazilian Governor Moves to Expropriate Land from Agribusiness Multinational Syngenta.” Z-Net. December 2006. “Monsanto’s Seeds of Corruption in Brazil.” North American Congress on Latin America. October 2006 “Broadening the Discourse of ‘Negotiated Land Reform’: A Comparison Between Land Reform Projects in South Africa and Brazil.” Land Research Action Network. March 2006. Other * Member of the Advisory Committee to the Brazil Strategy Network, a network of people dedicated to cooperative relations between Brazil and the United States based on equitable democratic development.