Abby Carrigan is a senior at Michigan State University studying
Social Relations & Policy, with minors in Sustainable Agriculture
& Food Systems, Environments & Health, and Human,
Environmental, & Economic Geography.

Motivated by her love for sustainable relationships with the land
and the environment, Abby is interested in using
community-level engagement to support equitable and
ecologically minded development in both rural and urban areas.

Abby began her position as a Research Assistant at the MSU
Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) in
August 2025, where she works on the Circular Economy
Research Team to spread awareness and inform policy on how
to strengthen Michigan’s transition toward a regenerative,
low-waste economy. Her work supports statewide collaboration between local governments,
businesses, and community organizations to build systems that reduce waste, create local
economic opportunity, and improve environmental resilience.

She also currently works for Livingston County, where she recently received the Michigan
Association of Planning’s Outstanding Undergraduate Student Project award for writing
Livingston County’s Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems, and Rural Environments plan.
Through her work, Abby hopes to integrate data-driven research with community-based
planning tools to advance sustainable development, empowering Michigan communities across
the urban-rural divide.