Dan Baker’s work focuses on applied community development in Vermont and internationally. Helping build stronger, more resilient sustainable rural communities is a life-long goal, commitment and unifying theme in his work.
His international experience includes the Ecological Sugar Project, a long-term research and development program to increase incomes and reduce the environmental impact of small scale artisanal sugar producers based in Honduras. In Honduras he also worked with community partners and UVM students to improve water systems, strengthen women’s small business and develop school gardens. His current international service-learning focus with students is food systems and rural development in Peru. He has a strong interest in the integration of civil/environmental engineering and community development.
In Vermont, Dan’s research includes work on dairy labor issues, including interviews with dairy farmers and migrant Latinx farmworkers that seeks to address long-term labor shortages in the dairy industry through on-farm practices and public policy. His work also includes emergency preparedness and planning, with a particular emphasis on the unique issues facing mobile home park residents.
Outside of the University Dan produces maple syrup with his family and “spends as much time in the woods as possible.”
