About

Hi, I’m Theresa Louise Binnings —

I am a biology student completing my degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology with a minor in Data Science, and a strong foundation in chemistry, mathematics, and writing.

Prior to returning to academia, my life centered around the world of local foods and culinary work. I had the privilege of working for several small local food businesses in Santa Cruz — all of which deeply valued sourcing from local farms and creating products that reflected Slow Food values — food made the way people have been making it for centuries. I worked as a baker, a broth maker, and a culinary educator. It was at Pie Ranch, an educational non-profit farm, where my understanding of farms and food expanded to include farm justice and social justice, and where my love for plants and soil deepened.

It was this love of plants and soil that brought me back to school — where my path widened to include chemistry, biology, and mathematics, and eventually into the classroom as a supplementary instructor and teacher’s assistant for STEM courses.

From this work as an educational supporter and student, my interest in accessibility and equality in STEM has grown. I have come to see how bringing more diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences into STEM allows science to progress — far beyond what is possible when access remains limited by class, race, gender, or neurodiversity. Creating learning spaces that build inclusion is really just another level of nurturing ecosystems, in the way that ecologists and sustainable farmers do — with the recognition that the real health of any ecosystem depends on the vast variety of microbes, plants, animals, and insects woven into it.