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Florentina Rodriguez, Ed.D., is a 2025 graduate of the Ed.D. program in Educational and Professional Practice at Antioch University.
Dissertation Committee:
Richard Kahn, Ph.D., Committee Chair
Kimberly Hardy, EdD, Committee Member
Mehmet Öztan, PhD, Committee Member
Keywords
critical counter-narrative, critical collaborative autoethnography, critical race theory, Understanding by Design (UbD), seed systems, food sovereignty, seed sovereignty, small-scale seed industry, culturally meaningful seeds, seed ethics
Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
This Professional Innovation dissertation utilizes Critical Counter-Narrative both as research methodology to generate narrative reflections and as praxis for liberatory transformation. Through research vignettes adapted from the author’s experience with critical collaborative autoethnographic seed work, this study produced critical counter-narratives aimed at addressing inequities in small-scale seed systems. These counter-narratives were incorporated into curriculum materials synthesized as an educational toolkit for a professional research
sister-project: the new Culturally Informed Community Seed Pledge and Code of Ethics (CICSP/COE). This project seeks to address disparity and extractive practices; outline relational pathways for reciprocity and respecting communities of origin; and provide evaluation metrics and market enhancement to stakeholders in the small-scale seed industry. This dissertation study developed the CICSP/COE educational toolkit with critical race theory as an inquiry modality and Understanding by Design (UbD) as a logic model. By synergizing counter-narratives into an educational toolkit supporting the launch of the CICSP/COE, this study provides means for transformative action and generative change. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez, F. (2025). They Forgot We Were Seeds: Critical Counter-Narratives Supporting Culturally Informed Community Seed Work. https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/1125
Included in
Environmental Studies Commons, Food Studies Commons, Other Food Science Commons, Other Plant Sciences Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Comments
ORCID No. 0009-0004-6382-8101
Bio:
Dr. Rodriguez is a bi-racial CHamoru seed educator, seed librarian, and cooperative farmer who
provides technical support to various urban, nonprofit, and cooperative farms in her community through her business, Flora Seeds. She acts as an advisory board member for Ohio’s BIPOC Food & Farming Network (BFFN) and Seven Seed Sowers Cooperative. She founded the Miami Valley Seed Commons whose mission is to cultivate a local seedshed to support community-based food systems and regional resilience.
Dr. Rodriguez completed her doctoral research on culturally and community-informed seed work at Antioch University in their Environmental and Sustainability Education program. She is the co-author of the new Culturally-Informed Community Seed Pledge and Code of Ethics (CICSP/COE) for use in the small-scale seed industry available at cicspledge.org. As part of this work, Dr. Rodriguez also co-authored a peer-reviewed book chapter providing regional case studies and an analysis of the small-scale American seed industry for an upcoming volume on re-imagining food systems.
Dr. Rodriguez continues her community-driven work aimed at increasing equity and representation for minoritized growers in her role as Director of Research and Project Development for The Lavender Project, a digital archive, storytelling, and community mural project amplifying the voices of Black, BIPOC and PoGM female and nonbinary queer farmers, growers, and food justice workers. The Lavender Project also creates agriCULTURE events that bring diverse community members together around food, farming, and the arts. (lavenderproject.org)
Dr. Rodriguez is currently engaged in grassroots efforts to support farmers impacted by federal funding freezes to the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA), a key initiative that allowed organizations like schools, childcare centers, and food banks to purchase fresh local food from area farmers. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) is operating a Federal Funding Freeze Action Center with information on how to Take Action Now at https://action.oeffa.org/freeze/.