Alison Blay-Palmer is the founding Director for the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and a Professor in Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research and teaching combine her passions for sustainable food systems and community viability through civil society engagement and innovative governance. Her most recent research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, the Carasso Foundation, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Alison collaborates with academics and practitioners across Canada and internationally including partners in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. This work gained national recognition in both 2012 and 2019 when her partnership was one of three nominees for a national SSHRC Partnership Impact Award.

Current projects with partners and students include: City-Region Food System, Climate Resilience with the Resources Centre on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization; food security, health and climate change in the Northwest Territories; exploring urban agriculture through an intersectional feminist lens in Quito Ecuador; and the Bee City movement in Canada.