Brandon Isenman graduated in May 2025 with a dual degree in Economics (BA) and International Studies (BA) and two minors in Portuguese and Philosophy. In Fall 2025, he will be starting the MDP program at UF. Brandon joined SerraLab in Spring 2023, as he got interested in pursuing experiential learning opportunities after attending the Quest 2 course Wealth and Poverty in Today’s World. He was awarded the University Scholars Program during 2023-24, to conduct research under the mentorship of Dr Serra on Youth in Africa and Waithood. Brandon learned R program and performed econometric analysis with Afro Barometer data to analyze the determinants of youth vs. non-youth political participation. The manuscript stemming from this research project has now been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. In his senior year, Brandon also completed an honors thesis on the topic of coffee production and sustainable development in Mozambique under the guidance of Dr. Catherine Tucker. Brandon ’s research interests are sustainable agriculture, coffee supply chains, and anthropology of development, and he is passionate about justice and sustainability in the coffee industry. 

Damian Oakes joined UF in Fall 2022 to pursue a Masters in Sustainable Development Practice (MDP). Originally from Ixopo, South Africa, he already held a Master in Interpreting and Translation (University of Pretoria) and a bachelor’s degree in French and Political Science (University of Kwa-Zulu Natal), and had worked several years for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in South Africa. During the MDP, under the mentorship of Dr Serra, Damian conducted a research practicum in St Louis Senegal, to explore perceptions of climate change and narratives of adaptation and migration, and was awarded the best Poster Prize in the MDP category.

Damian is currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology under the supervision of Dr. Abdoulaye Kane. His PhD research centers on understanding perceptions of and responses to the Spain-Senegal migration policy by considering how hope of sending remittances and escaping social death are driving factors of human migration to the global north. Damian is passionate about human migration, ethnography, development, human rights, and languages and cultures. He speaks fluent English, advanced French, intermediate Afrikaans and Arabic, basic Spanish and Zulu. He was awarded the FLAS fellowship for Arabic language during 2023-25.

Innocent Eluagu is a Master’s student in Sustainable Development Practice (MDP) at the University of Florida. He earned an MBA and Master’s in Public & International Affairs at the University of Lagos and a Bachelor’s degree at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, in Nigeria. For over a decade, he had worked as business /project development manager with Mitsubishi Corporation, a global integrated business enterprise handling responsibilities across Power solutions, Industrial infrastructure, Metals, Mobility, Commodities export, and Sustainability.  Innocent served as an assistant to Dr Serra for the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems during 2024-25 and is conducting his practicum with the Global Food System Institute at UF/IFAS. MDP research area focuses on examining opportunities for supporting peanut production systems in Nigeria for improved livelihoods and food security.  Innocent is passionate about sustainable development, energy transition, food systems supply chain, environmental value creation, biodiversity conservation and social inclusion.  

Kaylee McDonald has earned a double Major in Arabic and Sustainability Studies at UF, graduating in Spring 2025. Hailing from Navarre, Florida, Kaylee traveled to the University of Florida as a first-generation college student, eager to turn her passions into a way to help the world around her. While at the University of Florida, she studied abroad in Fez, Morocco, which helped her expand her language acquisition and learn more about community solutions; as well as Turkey. With the SerraLab, Kaylee contributed to coding qualitative interviews from the Minerva Reseach Project, familiarizing with the subtleties of thematic analysis and learning NVIVO software. Outside UF, she interned at a non-profit for intimate partner violence, working as an outreach advocate. With these experiences, Kaylee has grown a passion about climate resilience, community strategies, women’s empowerment and non-profit work. She is starting the MDP program at UF in Fall 2025, hoping to utilize these passions as she pursues graduate studies.

Rosemary Godfrey Maro, originally from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, joined UF to pursue a master’s degree in Sustainable Development Practice with a concentration in climate science, and graduate certificates in Tropical Conservation and Development, Gender and Development, and Global Health. Rosemary previously obtained a BSc in Wildlife Science and Conservation from the University of Dar es Salaam and worked in Tanzania with non-profit organizations on wildlife corridor restoration, invasive species removal, vegetation monitoring, and initiatives that promote sustainable community livelihoods. Rosemary conducted her MDP field practicum in Gainesville, Florida, working with Zero Waste Gainesville and The Repurpose Project, where she focused on reducing landfill use and expansion, lowering associated greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting sustainable waste management as a strategy for both climate mitigation and adaptation. Rosemary graduated in Spring 2025 and aims to pursue her interests in climate mitigation, green financing for restoration and community wellbeing, wildlife conservation, gender equity, and international relations. 

Sylvia Adisa joined UF to pursue a Master’s in Sustainable Development Practice (MDP), which she earned in Spring 2024, together certificates in Gender and Development, Global Health, Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD), and African Studies; and has now joined the Ph.D. program in Interdisciplinary Ecology. She previously earned a Bachelor’s degree in Project Planning and Management (PPM) from Moi University, Kenya; and had worked with communities in Western Kenya on conservation and health initiatives. Sylvia’s master’s research, conducted under Dr. Serra’s guidance, examines the role of women in artisanal billfish fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean, focusing on Kenya’s coast. A revised version of this study is forthcoming in the journal Frontiers in Marine Sciences. Sylvia continues to explore gender dynamics in fisheries during her PhD program, under the mentorship of Dr Kai Lorenzen and Dr Renata Serra. Sylvia is passionate about sustainable development, gender equity, and biodiversity conservation, with research interests in climate change, governance, and fisheries policy. Sylvia served as a graduate assistant for the Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) student group from 2023 to 2024.

Graham completed his undergraduate studies here at University of Florida, with a degree in International Studies, where he conducted his thesis of a critical analysis of the discourse of climate migration in Tuvalu and Kiribati, before beginning the MDP program in Fall 2024. During his graduate studies, Graham conducted his field practicum in Churute, Ecuador with Conservation International – Ecuador on their project “Mangroves for the Climate.”In this fieldwork, he utilized mixed methods to investigate household resilience and perceptions of climate change and among members of crab-harvesting cooperatives. His practicum aligns with the SPARK project, investigating the relationship between psychological resilience and resilience to climate change across the Sahel, where he provides research assistance as a graduate assistant for Dr. Renata Serra. Broadly, Graham’s research themes include community resilience to climate change, social effects of climate change, and climate adaptation.