Henrietta Ransdell

About Henrietta

Henrietta “Henny” Ransdell is a sustainability and anthropology scholar whose work uplifts community-led cultural and environmental conservation in climate-precarious landscapes. Raised across rural communities in the American South, Henny developed an early understanding of how land, food, and heritage shape belonging and resilience.

She holds three bachelor’s degrees in anthropology, English, and sustainability from the University of Louisville and recently completed a Master of Science in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on sustainability. Her research integrates ethnography, archaeology, and geographic information systems (GIS) to document how communities interact with and steward culturally and ecologically significant places. Her master’s thesis examines descendant-led cemetery preservation and contested land access in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where she worked closely with displaced Appalachian families to amplify community voices within federal land management.

Henny’s international experience includes archaeological fieldwork in Jamaica and Morocco and a Fulbright grant in Thailand, where she taught English and interned at Khao Sok National Park. There, she observed how local knowledge and leadership underpin effective conservation practices. She currently serves as a Princeton in Asia Fellow at the University of Macau, supporting multilingual students through individualized instruction and intercultural programming.

As her passion, Henny co-founded a zero-waste food pantry during her undergraduate career, combining waste-diversion, gardening, composting, and SNAP education. She enjoys hiking, reading, and airdropping memes to her friends.

Henny aspires to build a career that bridges scientific research with lived experience and traditional ecological knowledge, fostering collaborative approaches to conservation across Asia and beyond.