My name is Katie Butterfield and I’m a quantitative sociologist interested in research and teaching opportunities in research methods, food systems,
inequality, and health and wellness. I hold a PhD in sociology from University of California, Merced, and have 8+ years of experience in mixed-methods
research, including work with experts in the fields of sociology and public health. I’ve designed and implemented generative and evaluative research
studies using surveys, interviews, and content analysis. I’m familiar with a variety of data collection methods, statistical and qualitative analysis
techniques, and applicable software.
I currently serve as a Postdoctoral Scholar for the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at
University of California, Davis. I work with Dr. Ryan Galt, and in consultation with USDA's
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Dr. Houston Wilson from UC ANR Organic
Agriculture Institute, to develop and perform surveys, interviews, and focus groups with members of California's organic industry. This
research addresses familiarity with AMS Market News organic data, organic market data use and needs more broadly, and current organic product
pricing strategies among organic agriculture producers, wholesalers and distributors, processors, and retailers. Findings will inform recommendations
for improving AMS organic data offerings and rapidly expanding California's organic industry to help reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
across the state.
My other academic research conceptualizing community gardens as localized food and health resources takes two approaches: (1) understanding users by
exploring how they describe the values and challenges of community gardening, and (2) evaluating the effectiveness and accessibility of these
programs. My work has been published in Agriculture and Human Values and
Sociological Perspectives, and co-authored work with Dr. A. Susana Ramírez
has been published in Health Education and Behavior.
My mixed methods and interdisciplinary dissertation investigated how race, class, and geography combine to shape access to, use, and
benefits of community gardens. Along with Dr. Zulema Valdez, I co-led a nation-wide mixed-methods data collection project that included
creating and implemented a complex online survey of community gardeners and managers, and coordinating and conducting in-depth interviews
of community gardeners and managers. I used this data to investigate how personal investments and garden organizational structures
influence how drastic community gardeners’ health improvements are. I also consider the extent to which broader institutional
inequalities are embedded into community gardens through the goals their managers focus on. These interviews show strategies rural
gardeners utilize to overcome geographic and resource limitations in building successful and healthy gardens. By highlighting
strategies for, and barriers to, reaching disadvantaged populations, this work can help maximize the overall social equity of
community gardens.
I also have experience serving as the lead data analyst for the CalFresh and Nutrition Branch at the California Department of Social Services. I directly
supported leadership in making data-informed decisions about how best to improve equitable access to healthy food among California’s more vulnerable
populations as well as related client outcomes and contractual results. I independently conducted varied research tasks to support data collection
and analysis and compiled, analyzed, and interpreted statewide and county data related to CalFresh program areas. I created reports, summaries, and
visualizations and communicated findings to department and external stakeholders. To assess program effectiveness, I also monitored trends in CalFresh
administrative data and supported the development of complex SQL queries to extract new administrative data measures from one of the largest
automated welfare data system in the world.
As a graduate student at University of California, Merced, I taught several courses including Introduction to Sociology and Statistics for Sociology.
I guided my students through ethnographic and statistical research projects. I presented my work at academic conferences and on-campus workshops aimed
at audiences with varying technical and research backgrounds. I was an active member of the
Communication, Culture, and Health and
Sociology of Health and Equity labs at University of California,
Merced. I also served as co-chair of the California Economists Collective,
and have served on Healthy Campus Network Committee, Sociology Graduate Student Committee, and Graduate Student Association at UC Merced. My work has been supported by the John & Victoria Elia Fellowship, UC Merced Blum Center Seed Grant, and UC Global Food Initiative Fellowship and related Grow Grant.
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