Jackie Botts is the 2016 Recipient of the William Whitley Citizen-Scholar Prize

Jackie Botts (BS, 2016) was named the 2016 William W. Whitley Citizen-Scholar. As a student within the Sustainable Food and Agriculture track, Jackie Botts is devoted to advancing food security and health equity for underserved populations. During her senior year, Jackie co-led a course and an Alternative Spring Break trip addressing migrant farmworker health in California. Committed to immigrant justice, she also tutored English as a Second Language through Stanford Habla and volunteered as a document translator for immigration cases at Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto. She believes that immigration, food systems, and environmental problems are integrally linked in the United States and hopes to work at the intersection of these issues in her future career.

During her senior year, Jackie also worked as a research intern at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. This summer she will live in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she will work as a research assistant for a binational wellness study with the Stanford School of Medicine. During her undergraduate career, her passion for health equity also motivated her to work tirelessly to raise funds for Partners in Health as an Outreach Executive for Stanford Dance Marathon. In addition, Jackie interned at the Department of Environmental Economics in the Chilean Ministry of the Environment and as a volunteer at an Organic Urban Agriculture Demonstration Farm during her 6 months studying abroad in Santiago, Chile.

Jackie graduates from Stanford with distinction. Her other honors include election to Phi Beta Kappa, the Earth Systems Public Service Scholar award, and the Dean's Award for Undergraduate Academic Achievement. Next year, Jackie will pursue a Master of Arts in Earth Systems, Environmental Communication, to become a better advocate for communities dealing with environmental justice issues.