Birmingham, Alabama and San Cristóbal, Gto., Mexico – 2 August 2017 – The Kirchner Food Fellowship, an initiative of the Kirchner Impact Foundation, today announced the selection of new fellows for its unprecedented program. This year the fellowship will be focused on Mexico in collaboration with Centro Fox and will commence in August.

The Kirchner Food Fellowship is pleased to announce the 2017-2018 Kirchner Food Fellows:

Adrian Garcia-Casarrubias is a Plant Biotechnology PhD candidate at CINVESTAV-IPN (Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute) in San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico. He is also an entrepreneur and with his platform INFOOD® he is helping more than 200 small farmers from around Mexico with access to high value markets.

Karla Rascon-Garcia is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis after earning a B.S. in Animal Science and a Masters in Development Practice from the University of Arizona. Her interest in animal health and agriculture was sparked from early exposures to farming in rural Mexico. She has volunteered in many countries and partnered with Panaftosa-PAHO/WHO working with Foot and Mouth Disease in Latin America for her Master’s in Development Practice field practicum.

Alfredo Costilla-Reyes is a PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering at the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. Alfredo also holds a Certificate in Business from the Mays Business School and is currently working on one focused on Entrepreneurship and Technology Commercialization. Alfredo’s research is focused on urban farming, a combination of agriculture, electronics and computer science, where he has developed a platform to educate kids about agriculture in collaboration with the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico.

“The Kirchner Fellowship was an extraordinary opportunity in many ways,” added Faridah Ibrahim, 2016-2017 Kirchner Food Fellow in response to the announcement. “It significantly strengthened my skills and abilities related to agriculture and food security. Most importantly, the fellowship introduced me to a family of incredibly talented and driven fellows, directors, and alumni, all deeply committed to the progress of agriculture and food security globally.”

“Now in the fifth year of this global capital markets initiative, the program continues to build momentum,” stated Steve Dauphin, Director. “This group of fellows should form an excellent investment team that will be a positive contributor to the evolution of the ag-related venture capital community in Mexico.”

The fellowship also recently announced the formation of its Board of Advisors with inaugural members, Vicente Fox Quesada, Former President of Mexico, William Buckner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Noble Research Institute and Shaun Donovan, Former Federal Budget Director.