Prerna Rana

Prerna Rana is a PhD student in the Department of Civil Society and Community Research in the School of Human Ecology. Her research interests include grassroots community development, food systems, gender empowerment, civic engagement and stakeholder dynamics in the development sector that shape and influence community power. Prior to commencing her PhD at UW-Madison, Prerna worked as a practitioner with rural women’s institutions in India on issues related to financial inclusion, sustainable agriculture, and grassroots governance systems. She aspires to create participatory and equitable collaborations while doing community engaged research that centers the voices of those who are directly affected by development programs. The funding from the Scott Kloeck-Jenson Fellowship will support her conducting fieldwork with a grassroots community organization in Rajasthan, India, where she will work in partnership with the community to create a nutrition program that addresses systemic issues thereby enhancing individual and collective well-being. Her work is in a geographic area that deals with the added problem of environmental pollution affecting food production systems and consumption patterns of villagers, hence her study will look at ways in which community members make sense of their issues and propose solutions within the broader framework of their membership in their community organization and which involves negotiating and working with other development sector stakeholders.