I’m Mitch, an ecological economist and writer. Over the years, I’ve managed sustainability certification systems, conducted applied economics research, and worked in environmental consulting, supporting everything from fair trade agriculture to renewable energy development. In each role, I kept returning to the same sense: that the challenges we face run deeper than any single intervention, and meaningful change requires not just better tools but different ways of thinking altogether.

This path began at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, where I first encountered ecological and feminist economic critiques of mainstream theory working under Dr. Neva Goodwin and Dr. Jonathan Harris. There, in addition to their groundbreaking work, I discovered thinkers like Donella Meadows, Herman Daly, E.O. Wilson, Kate Raworth, E.F. Schumacher, and Elinor Ostrom — people who offered not just critiques, but different ways of understanding systems and value. I later pursued a master’s in Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Delaware, focusing on applied methods to explore how systems behave in practice. Over time, I began to realize that the questions I cared about most demanded more than what economics alone could offer, so I started looking across disciplines, searching for patterns and connections that could help me make better sense of the whole.

How do we live well on a shared planet? What do we owe each other? What might happen if we let go of common assumptions?

These types of questions continue to shape how I think, work, and live. Outside of this work, I find peace and joy in the mountains, in music, in movement, and in sharing meals and conversation with family and friends. Those moments, too, feel like part of the work.