Dr. Jean Ribert Francois is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Auburn University. He completed his PhD in Geography and Geospatial Sciences at Kansas State University in 2025. While at K-State he worked on research related to landscape complexity and agricultural production. He is interested in rural community development and sustainability and wants to use adapted approaches to understand change and transformation in community-based systems (e.g., farming systems). His bachelor’s degree was in Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (College of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine / State University of Haiti) and he got his master’s degree in Family, Youth and Community Sciences (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences / University of Florida). His program was funded by USAID through their Support to Agricultural Research and Development (SARD) project in Haiti. His research project examined mechanisms by which family, community, and society create advantages and/or disadvantages for young people coming from an agricultural background and how their life aspirations are impacted.

Read Jean’s contribution to Just Rural Futures.