Valerian is an undergraduate student set to graduate Spring 2025 with a BS in Conservation and Resource Studies and a BA in Mathematics. They are interested in building climate resilient agroecosystems, with a particular focus on soil ecosystems, and eliminating barriers to adoption of agroecological methods. He also has a special interest in how mechanisms of empire have globally contributed to our current agricultural paradigm. They are currently working on a thesis concerned with the relationship between dry farming and soil organic carbon stocks in California vineyards. In the past he has assisted with projects related to ecosystem services of cover cropping and specimen cataloguing at the Urban Bee Lab.

In the future, Valerian hopes to build a deeper understanding of the ecosystem context of our agricultural lands, and find ways to bring our practice into alignment with the specific challenges and needs associated with those systems. In his free time, Valerian is an avid language learner, having studied Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.