On this episode, we talk with Dr. Alex Racelis, associate professor in the UTRGV School of Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences and director of Agroecology and Resilient Food Systems Program. We discuss the inaugural Agriculture Subcommittee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Equity Commission, where Racelis is one of 15 appointees. We also discuss the research Racelis conducts, (and Mackenzie who is in Racelis' lab!), which is driven by a better understanding of how agriculture, urban development, invasive species and resource management affects certain ecological processes in the light of pressing social and environmental issues, such as climate change, food and water security, sustainable development, and social justice.