Tammara Soma

"When I was first notified that I had been awarded the Pierre Elliott Trudeau scholarship, I could not have imagined the numerous doors of opportunities that would be open to me. As a scholar from the Global South, the scholarship from the Foundation was integral to the successful completion of my dissertation and the amount of interest my research has garnered both in the academic community and on mainstream media. My 2014 cohort has also developed a long-lasting personal and professional bond which I envision will last throughout our lives. The Foundation community does not only consist of bright academics and leaders, I have observed time and time again the compassion and commitment by members of our community to social justice and equity. I hope to continue my involvement with the Foundation and inspire other scholars (especially those coming from the Global South) to be part of this community."

Dr. Tammara Soma MCIP RPP is an Associate Professor at the School of Resource and Environmental Management (Planning program) at Simon Fraser University and Research Director of the Food Systems Lab. She is also the Faculty Lead on the Simon Fraser University- Aga Khan University, Arusha Climate Environmental Research partnership in Tanzania. She conducts research on issues pertaining to food loss and waste (FLW), food systems planning, food security and food systems resiliency, Indigenous food sovereignty, and the circular food economy in Canada and globally. She is routinely featured in international and local media on various food-related issues (The Guardian, CBC, TVO, CTV, National Observer, Chatelaine etc.) and is the co-director/ co-writer of the CBC documentary “Food is My Teacher.” Dr. Soma was selected as a committee member of the US National Academies of Sciences and co-authored the consensus study A National Strategy to Reduce Consumer Food Waste. She also served on the expert panel of the Council of Canadian Academies’ report on “Atypical Food Production Technologies for Canadian Food Security.” Most recently she was selected as a UN expert panel to be on the drafting team of a report on “Building Resilient Food Systems.” Dr. Soma is the co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Food Waste and has been published in various academic journals including in Journal of American Planning Association, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Agriculture Human Values, Journal of Cleaner Production and more. Dr. Soma is a registered professional planner with the Canadian Institute of Planner.