BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

 Mital S. Shah was born in Bridgeport, CT. She received her Bachelor of Arts

degree in world religions from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, in May 2000. After

receiving the degree she volunteered on various farms in Europe. Upon her return she

worked on the Tohono O'Odham Reservations as a GED/ABE instructor in Sells, AZ.

Since then and until her pursuit of a master's degree in 2004 she has also interned with

the National Park Service as an interpretative park ranger at Kenai Fjords National Park

in Alaska. She also interned with the US Geological Survey in Cape Cod. She then

worked for the USGS as an Education Specialist. Also, during this time Mital was a

coordinator of Puran News, a non-profit Indian women's organization aimed to help

Indian women share, learn and support each other's endeavors to continue the legacy and

heritage of the Indian culture.

 In 2004 Mital began graduate school at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

She is pursuing her master's degree in interdisciplinary ecology through the School of

Natural Resources and Environment. She conducted research under the supervision of

Dr. M.E. Swisher in Oklahoma with Cherokee farmers. The purpose of the research was

to determine what factors influence Cherokee farmers to use traditional agricultural

practices. Currently, Mital is co-president of the Ethnoecology Society at the University

of Florida. She recently received the David Boren Graduate Student Fellowship and will

travel to India to conduct research with Himalayan tribal Indian farmers.