Nina Sayles is a joint Master of Urban Planning (environmental planning) and Master of Public Health Nutrition student at Harvard University. Her undergraduate program, a BA in Health: Science, Society, and Policy from Brandeis University, drew a clear connection between the built environment and community health and led her to combine urban planning and public health; practical experiences before graduate school, including market gardening, food retail, and food service, steered her focus to a specialization in food systems. Nina is interested in cultivating urban and rural synergies to improve regional food systems coordination. In her spare time, Nina trains as a competitive sabre fencer, and she enjoys gardening, cooking, and playing music.