Eeshani Kandpal, is from India, and she is currently a PhD student in Agricultural and Consumer Economics. She has a Masters in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois and a BA in Economics and Classics from Macalester College, Minnesota. She has worked for a summer with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in Italy. Her research combines cutting-edge spatial econometrics with health policy and development economics. She focuses on women’s empowerment and combating child malnutrition issues. Eeshani was awarded the 2007 Outstanding Master’s Thesis in her department, and she has a forthcoming publication co-authored with her advisor in Economic and Political Weekly. She has presented papers at several conferences. She is a leader in her department, initiating a workshop which has led to a weekly seminar series on trade, development and policy economics. She is active in the graduate student organization and is helping organize a mid-western conference on spatial and health economics.