Position Title
Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Davis
Founder, Farmer Campus
- npinzon@ucdavis.edu
- Wildfires and Agriculture Research
- Wildfires and Food Systems Research
- Google Scholar
Natalia specializes in agroecology as a strategy towards equitable food system transformation in the face of climate change. She consults in agroecology research, evaluation and education.
Natalia's doctoral research worked at the intersection of disaster resilience, agroecology and action-research. She examined how California farmers are preparing for, responding to, and recovering from wildfires. This work led to the development of the action-research program “Farming Through Wildfire Season,” a multi-sector collaboration that includes a guidebook and an online course to help farmers and ranchers prepare for wildfire.
Her doctoral research revealed that producers are overlooked allies in building widespread wildfire resilience. They play a central role in community wildfire risk response by reducing fuel loads, creating defensible space, and leveraging their fire management expertise to protect both their own land and their neighbors’. Her research highlights the critical importance of the social fabric woven by small, ecological, and diversified farmers in supporting wildfire adaptation. However, a troubling paradox emerged: the very farmers best positioned to enhance landscape-level wildfire resilience are also the most vulnerable to wildfire impacts and the most at risk of losing their operations. The decline of these farms undermines the social fabric, weakens landscape resilience, and threatens global food security.
Natalia’s postdoctoral research builds on her commitment to serving underserved farming communities. As part of the Subseasonal-to-Seasonal (S2S) Climate Research Project—a multi-institutional partnership across the UCs and NASA—she leads research with underserved farmers to understand the barriers and needs for adopting climate decision-support tools. Her work integrates education, outreach, and co-production methodologies to ensure these tools are accessible and actionable for farmers, ranchers. In her postdoc, Natalia is developing the UC-wide online course “Climate Change and Agriculture” in collaboration with Professor Mark Cooper, supported by the UC Office of the President’s Innovative Learning Technology Initiative (UCOP-ILTI). This course links with a Climate Resilience through Agroecology program at Farmer Campus and examines the interconnected impacts of climate change and agriculture, focusing on resilience, mitigation, and adaptation strategies. Designed for students across multiple UC campuses, the course combines interactive mini-lectures, case studies, and farmer engagement to create a multimodal learning experience.
Natalia is the co-founder of Farmer Campus, a virtual learning network that blends online education with on-farm practices. With 13 years of experience in farmer education, she has co-designed over 30 multimedia curriculum modules to help farmers build resilience, share knowledge, and connect through peer networks. Natalia also provides consulting services on agroecology research and evaluation, serving foundations, nonprofits, and government agencies. Her expertise includes developing research methods such as a participatory data analysis tool; a bibliometric analysis method for transdisciplinary research; and AI-fraud detection techniques for online surveys. She also has training in interactive data visualization. Her consulting experience spans the evaluation of three BFRDP programs and 10 USDA funded programs, a four-year national research-extension program, and advising a research program serving Latinx farmers in the Western US. Natalia also serves as the Financial Liaison for the Latin American Scientific Society for Agroecology (SOCLA) and serves on the boards of the Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) and the California Farmer Justice Collaborative, reflecting her dedication to sustainable agriculture and equitable food systems.
A Colombian immigrant, Natalia holds an A.S. in Biology and Chemistry from Raritan Valley Community College, a B.S. in Conservation and Natural Resources from UC Berkeley, an M.A. and P.h.D in Geography from UC Davis. Her research experience spans mycology, soil microbiology, and diversified farming systems. With 20 years of agricultural research experience, she has cultivated a deep understanding of resilient farming practices. Passionate about the practice of farming, she spent three years in vegetable production and five years managing a goat dairy.
- AFRI Predoctoral Fellowship - 2021 - 2024
- Switzer Environmental Fellows, Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation - 2021
- Outstanding Project Award: The USDA Western ERME - 2023
- SAS 98X : Climate Change and Agriculture (UC Davis), 2019 - 2026
- Farming Through Wildfire Season (Farmer Campus), 2018 - 2024
- Organic Seed Production (Organic Seed Alliance), 2016 - 2022
- SAS 025V: Global Glimate Change (UC Davis), 2018
- ESPM 117: Urban Agriculture and Food Justice (UC Berkeley) 2017-2018
- Climate Resilience via Agroecology (Farmer Campus), 2017-2018
- ⬧ Agroecology ⬧ Socio-ecological research ⬧ Climate change resilience
- ⬧ Agricultural Education ⬧ Distance Education
- ⬧ Grant Writing ⬧ Impact Evaluation ⬧ Non-profit Development ⬧ Project Evaluation & Management