Sally Shortall is interested in farm families, and how their values and decisions shape agricultural practice. She is particularly interested in the role of women in farm families. Her research on gender relations in agriculture has focused on dynamics of power, how it is accepted and almost unquestioned that women rarely inherit land, are not recognised by the industry, and have limited access to capital and training. This persists in a context of general improvements in gender equality. To date her research has focused on Europe, Canada, Australia, Tanzania and Nigeria. She is currently working on women’s role in leading on ecological transitions and leading a Horizon Europe project (2023-2026) on this question. She has published extensively on these questions. Sally is also involved in a Horizon Europe project (2023-2027) looking at farmer health and safety and mental well-being, with a focus on the ethics of interviewing farmers who have had life changing accidents.

Sally Shortall was twice elected President of the European Society for Rural Sociology (2015-17; 2017-19). She was elected First Vice-President of the International Rural Sociology Association (2016-2020).

She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2021, and elected an International Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry for international service to agriculture.

Sally holds Visiting Professorships in Queen’s University Belfast, and has a 30% appointment in the Technology University of the Southeast of Ireland. She is an Irish citizen.

President, Rural Sociological Society

• Jennifer Sherman, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology
• Washington State University
• Wilson-Short 215, Pullman, WA 99164
• 509-335-4163
• jennifer_sherman@wsu.edu

President, Asociación Latinoamericana de Sociología Rural

• Germán Quaranta
• Ceil Conicet
• Saavedra 15 4o. piso
• C1083ACA, Buenos Aires – Argentina
• gquaranta@ceil-conicet.gov.ar
• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0042-0684
• http://www.ceil-conicet.gov.ar/acerca-de/integrantes/german-quaranta/

President of the Australasian Food Network

• Dr Emma Sharp, Rutherford Discovery Fellow
• 301.531B | 23 Symonds Street | Te Kura Matai Taiao/ School of
• Environment | Waipapa Taumata Rau/ The University of Auckland |
• Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142 | Aotearoa/ New Zealand
• el.sharp@auckland.ac.nz

President of the Asian Rural Sociology Association

• Motoki Akitsu, Professor
• Graduate School of Agriculture
• Kyoto University
• Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
• e-mail　akitsu.motoki.4r@kyoto-u.ac.jp

President: European Society for Rural Sociology

• Annette Aagaard Thuesen, Associate Professor
• The Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
• Department of Political Science and Public Management
• Danish Centre for Rural Research
• University of Southern Denmark
• +45 65 50 42 25
• aat@sam.sdu.dk  
• https://www.sdu.dk/ansat/aat  

Ruth McAreavey is Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on rural social change and inequalities; migration, research ethics and methodologies. She has published extensively on sustainable rural development and on inequalities faced by migrants in the labour market and in other parts of everyday life. Ruth’s research has been funded by government departments and agencies as well as independent charitable trusts.

Ruth is an active member of various international research networks including the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) and the European Sociological Association. She is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and co-editor-in-chief of Sociologia Ruralis. Ruth is proactive in engaging with third sector organisations and with government departments. She is a Trustee of Plunkett UK.

Sergio Schneider is Full Professor of Sociology of Rural Development and Food Studies at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he teaches and research at the Graduate Program of Sociology (PPGS) and Rural Development (PGDR).