Nicole Franz
Research Scholar
Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Bio
Nicole Franz (she/her) is an expert in the political economy of sustainable development. She has over two decades of experience working in intergovernmental organizations, namely the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Rome as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.
As leader of the equitable livelihoods team in FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Nicole focused on advancing global sustainability policy, making policy processes more inclusive, and empowering stakeholders.
Her role and leadership in the development and implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication cemented her dedication to bringing together responsible natural resource use with social development. She spearheaded efforts to embed these guidelines into national, regional, and global policy processes and initiatives relating to fisheries, food security, climate change, and biodiversity.
Also during her tenure at FAO, Nicole kickstarted the Illuminating Hidden Harvests initiative to generate and disseminate new evidence about the benefits, interactions, and impacts of small-scale fisheries to inform policy and practice.
Beyond her policy and research contributions, Nicole is a deeply committed mentor and capacity-builder. Over the past decade, she has supervised and mentored approximately 20 early-career scientists, interns, and young professionals and served as a guest lecturer.
Professional Education
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Masters, University of International Studies (UNINT), Rome, Italy, Economic and cultural cooperation and human rights in the Mediterranean region (2004)
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Masters, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, International cooperation (2004)
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Bachelor's degree, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, Economics with a minor in development economics (2002)