Dr. Sonya Sharififard (she/her) serves on the Board of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and is faculty at Pepperdine University. Her current research explores leadership development and global food systems, a project she completed as part of the AMPLIFY program with the Pacific Council. In 2024, she was invited by the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General to serve as a reviewer for the journal Public Health Reports. Her book Community, Food Insecurity, and a Global Perspective on Campus Food Pantries examines the role of campus food pantries around the world and their impact on student development and environmental issues.Previously, Dr. Sharififard served as a postdoctoral research fellow and Managing Editor of The Scholarship without Borders Journal at Pepperdine University and Lecturer at California State University, Sacramento. Dr. Sharififard has co-authored book chapters in New Horizons in Positive Leadership and Change (Springer 2020) and Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment (Palgrave 2018). She has presented at major international conferences, and serves on the review panel of global institutions in North America, Europe, and Asia, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the Academy of Management (AOM), and the International Leadership Association (ILA). Dr. Sharififard holds a Ph.D. in Global Leadership from Pepperdine University where she teaches courses in leadership and social entrepreneurship. Dr. Sharififard is fluent in Farsi.