Raychel Santo is a Senior Food and Climate Research Associate in WRI’s Food, Land & Water Program. She leads the design and delivery of environmental research pertaining to healthy and sustainable diets for the Food Initiatives team. She also co-leads efforts to track progress in the food and agricultural sector toward achieving food security, limiting global warming to 1.5°C, and halting ecosystem and biodiversity loss as part of the Systems Change Lab efforts. Her research covers a variety of topics including alternative proteins, more sustainable meat production practices, and food loss and waste.

Prior to joining WRI, Raychel worked at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF), where she held various roles for over 12 years. Her work at the CLF was focused on the intersection of research, policy, and partnership development to advance more sustainable diets and food production, just and resilient food systems, and climate mitigation practices. She also contributed to projects related to local and regional food policy, urban agriculture, and institutional food procurement. Some of her research has been covered by the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Popular Science, The Conversation, The Guardian, Toronto Star, and Vox.

Raychel received her BA in Public Health Studies and Global Environmental Change & Sustainability from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her MSc in Food, Space & Society at Cardiff University School of Geography & Planning with the support of the US-UK Fulbright Commission.

Raychel is passionate about advancing sustainability and climate mitigation beyond the food system as well, including through public transit advocacy and home electrification. Raychel lives in Baltimore, MD with her family.