Hoos Serving

Anne Nelson Stoner (she/her) is a second-year graduate student in the Urban & Environmental Planning program with a concentration in Food Systems and Equitable Collaboration. For the past two years, Anne Nelson has worked as a graduate research assistant for the Institute for Engagement & Negotiation (IEN) on projects ranging from assessing the impacts of COVID on critical service delivery in rural Virginia to evaluating partnerships between health care providers and food pantries to better support food insecure populations. Anne Nelson is also working with a team of UVA and community partners to explore food solidarity economies and the possibility of establishing a local food cooperative. She has also volunteered for the International Rescue Committee for over six years as a family liaison to an Iranian refugee family.

What led you to your service work?

Being from Charlottesville and having been gifted a lot from this community, I feel a deep sense of connection and obligation to give back and to support those out there who are doing the good, hard, and necessary care work. I started volunteering for organizations like Books Behind Bars and The Jefferson African American Heritage Center in high school, and learned, through the people in those spaces, how important supporting them is.

What has been the most rewarding aspect that comes with your community involvements?

The people, for sure. Once you start looking, there are so many incredible and dedicated people doing the hard work, and supporting them is the most rewarding part of my life.

How would you encourage others to get involved?

Follow the people you look up to, who do the work that excites you. When you meet someone and you think, 'oh, they're doing something cool,' reach out to them, ask them how you can be of support.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I love to rock climb, my favorite food is artichokes, and I am incredibly introverted.

What is your favorite spot on Grounds and why?

My favorite spot on Grounds is the outdoor classroom space behind the Architecture School. There's a blackboard wall to brainstorm, it's secluded, and outside!

What is a book or movie you would recommend?

Right now, I am reading "The Dawn of Everything" by David Graeber, an anthropologist who recently passed away. It's a big book, but he throws some really fundamental assumptions about history and social evolution into question in a way that opens up immense capacity to reimagine. On a lighter note, "The Book of Delights" by Ross Gay is one of my favorite books of all time.

If you could do one thing to make the world a better place, what would it be?

If I could do one thing to make the world a better place, I would redistribute wealth (and therefore power) and pay reparations to those who have been excluded and exploited through our systems. And, as a community, care more deeply for our non-human natural world.