Anthony Pahnke
Associate Professor of International Relations, San Francisco State University, and Vice President, Family Farm Defenders
Anthony Pahnke grew up on his grandparent’s dairy farm outside of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin before going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study Political Science. He grew up during the farm crisis of the 1980s, listening to family members discuss organizing in the NFO and the need for parity pricing. Over the years, he became interested in what rural groups have done to protect their land, food, and communities, which led him to Brazil where he conducted a research program on social movements and land and resource grabbing. He is currently living in San Francisco with his wife Marlene Rojas Lara – a granddaughter of a bracero – and their daughter, Lisa, and teaches at San Francisco State University.