Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council

I advocate for policies that promote regenerative agriculture to mitigate climate change, protect soil health, conserve and reduce water use, and restore biodiversity. I focus on advancing regenerative agriculture policy in California, but I also lend my expertise to our federal advocacy efforts. Most recently, I led a coalition in California to secure $1 billion for climate resilient food and farming systems infrastructure in a climate bond. Working alongside partners is a core value. On a lighter note, it's my personal mission to get the hashtag #SoilIsSexy trending on all the social media sites. Before joining NRDC, I served as a legislative staffer on Capitol Hill for the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senator Cory Booker. I have my bachelors from the University of California, San Diego and my masters from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

What personally excites me about agroforestry is that it is a systems-based approach to land management that has the potential to fight multiple crises simultaneously: climate change, biodiversity loss, and drought. On top of that, it’s a practice that draws from Indigenous wisdom and actively engages Indigenous communities. Since I focus on California, I’m especially excited about how the state can reinvest in riparian buffers to protect water quality and precious water supplies from evaporation. I’ve partnered with one Tribe over the last two years and funded some greenhouses to help the Tribe propagate native trees. The Tribe will use these native trees to restore a degraded riparian zone in the area, and they will also sell the trees to other community folk. The opportunities to partner with local Indigenous communities, bring multiple organizations under one organizing umbrella, and advance a solution that tackles multiple problems is all very exciting!