Amanda Solmes joined Loyalist College in April 2024, as Research Associate, Centre for Healthy Communities, Applied Research and Innovation Office.
She became very active in environmental advocacy work in her late teens and has since developed a broad portfolio of community development, social innovation, research, and curriculum development.
Prior to coming to Loyalist, she was serving as both Community Research Coordinator for the Community Development Council of Quinte (CDC) and Executive Director for IncrEdible Trent Hills (ITH) – supporting research and advocacy about food security in her CDC role and developing community programming, partnership, and celebration of local food in her ITH role.
She has an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (HBBA) and a Masters Environmental Studies (MES), both from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and has research interests in ecological citizenship, social-ecological systems theory, community resilience and flourishing, collaborative and co-operative business models, participatory governance, and regional food systems.