College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

Program: CSUS

Academic Focus Area: Consumer Behavior in Community Food and Agriculture Systems

Hometown: Lansing, MI

Advisor: Dan McCole

Crystal is pursuing her doctoral degree in the Department of Community Sustainability with a specialization in Ecological Food and Farming Systems under the guidance of Dr. Dan McCole. Crystal is a C.S. Mott Pre-doctoral fellow in Sustainable Agriculture, and has completed the Ecological Food and Farming specialization. Crystal earned her Masters of Science from the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies from MSU in 2013. Her Masters research focused on the role of collaboration among farmers and farmers’ market managers in southeast Michigan. During completion of her M.S. Crystal become acutely aware of the relationship between local food system development and recreation and tourism, and its importance in building sustainable communities. Her doctoral research allows her to examine community sustainability specific to the relationship between local food/beverages and tourism.

Her doctoral research explores consumer behavior, specifically of wine tasting room visitors/tourists, and how they respond to marketing information. Crystal’s research is tied to the Northern Grapes Research Project funded by the USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, which aims to help cold hardy wine producers overcome industry challenges and become more sustainable. 

Additional interests and projects include applied research in local and regional food systems. Crystal has worked with the Center for Regional food Systems on local food projects and publications, as well as lead several applied research projects for Oakland County Parks and Recreation in southeast Michigan. 

Crystal can be reached at:
mill1879@msu.edu