On May 8, 2026, RAFI’s Farmers of Color Network held a webinar on local, farm-based variety trials with Antonio Brazelton, Senior Coordinator of Research Partnerships at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food Agriculture Nutrition Innovation Center. Antonio shared his experience in organizing with local urban farmers to evaluate crop variety success for taste, yield, and disease resistance, as well as how neighboring farmers can organize their own variety trials.
Antionio Brazelton
Senior Coordinator of Research Partnerships
Antonio Brazelton is Senior Coordinator of Research Partnerships at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition Innovation Center in East St. Louis, Illinois. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, he holds degrees in plant and soil science from Tuskegee University and plant genetics from Iowa State University.
His work spans applied science, technology, and plant research, with a focus on crop improvement, sustainable agriculture, and food equity. Antonio began his career as a soil conservationist with the United States Department of Agriculture, working with farmers on land stewardship, and later helped develop digital genomics tools at Bayer Crop Science.
He studies plant breeding and genetics with an emphasis on resilient, low-input crops that can support more equitable food systems. He is drawn to plant science for both its social impact and the challenge of understanding how crops grow, adapt, and improve.