After witnessing pollution in Southern California’s coastal waters as a high school student, Ispendjian founded Saving the Sea. Today, the national nonprofit is helping students translate environmental research into policy and action.
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Institute at Brown for Environment and Society
Mindi Schneider
IBES Director of Undergraduate Studies, Associate Teaching Professor in Environment and Society
Research Interests
Agriculture, Agrarian change, Development sociology, Land, Land and environmental justice, Commodity studies, Historical sociology, Political ecology, Social reproduction and feminist political economy/ecology, Waste and discard studies
Recent News
News from IBES
IBES-affiliated students named 2026 Royce Fellows
Through the Swearer Center program, eight students affiliated with IBES will conduct community-engaged research spanning environmental justice, food sovereignty, conservation biology, and Indigenous land stewardship.
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The Brown Daily Herald
‘Without Shade, Without Rest’ highlights agricultural workers’ advocacy
IBES and cross-campus partners hosted a screening and discussion of a new documentary, which looks at the fight to win heat protection for outdoor workers in Florida in the wake of the hottest year on record.
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Climate conversations came to life at IBES this semester as thought leaders, students, and changemakers gathered to exchange ideas, share stories, and shape real-world solutions.
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Schneider succeeds Dawn King, who recently assumed the role of Deputy Dean of the College for Curriculum.
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IBES Lecturer Mindi Schneider and 99 fellow authors advocate in favor of the OCTOPUS Act: a proposed federal law that would prohibit commercial octopus aquaculture in the US and the import of commercially farmed octopus.
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