Debra Israel

Debra Israel grew up in New York along the Hudson River, spending time each summer at her grandparents’ farm in South Dakota. She now lives in Indiana, where she is Professor of Economics at Indiana State University. Debra graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in biology and an interest in organic agriculture. She learned of The Land Institute through a posted flier and was excited to join the internship program. Debra’s path to becoming an economist started with a curiosity about how agriculture and farming fit into our economy. After The Land Institute, she worked on an organic vegetable farm, and then for Greenmarket farmers’ markets in NYC. A seminar at the Center for Rural Affairs helped spark her interest in Agricultural Economics. During her MS at Penn State, she surveyed farmers in southeastern Pennsylvania to learn about farming under pressure from urban development. Her dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her PhD in Economics focused on household fuel use in Bolivia and global demand for environmental quality. Her teaching and research interests continue to blend environmental, development economics, and public policy topics. As a former intern at The Land Institute, Debra enjoyed working on the composting toilet, explaining how to make tofu from scratch, and learning about soil conservation practices from Kansas farmers, among many other experiences.

My most perennial trait is Family – I love spending time with family, learning and exploring new ideas.

1983 Intern at The Land Institute