Ph.D. · Virginia Tech

Bolanle Oyindamola Adebayo, Ph.D.

Ph.D., Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education

Connecting evidence with practical action in food and agricultural systems, leadership development, and community education.

Work with me CV on request Google Scholar

About my work

I am a researcher and educator in agricultural, leadership, and community education. My work sits at the nexus of community leadership development, agricultural development, farmer-to-farmer extension, mentoring, and food systems leadership.

I completed my Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, studying how participation in citizen science shapes leadership identity and food systems leadership among farmers in Nigeria. Across every project, I work to connect rigorous evidence with practical action alongside communities, practitioners, and other stakeholders.

Read the full biography

Available for

Full-time roles
Project-based collaborations
Consulting support
Research partnerships
Selected short-term or volunteer projects

Explore consultancy

Speaking engagements

Watch conversations on citizen science, leadership identity, farmer participation, and agricultural innovation.

Featured artwork for Bolanle Adebayo's 1000FARMS webinar on citizen science and leadership

18 December 2025

Exploring Participation in Citizen Science for Leadership Identity Development and Food Systems Leadership: A Case Study of Tricot

1000FARMS Webinar 18

Online

An invited webinar showing how participation in citizen science builds leadership identity and food systems leadership, drawing on a tricot study in Osun State, Nigeria.

Watch the webinar

2025

1000FARMS Webinar Series

1000FARMS Webinar 06

Online

An earlier webinar in the 1000FARMS series on citizen science and participatory agricultural research.

Watch the webinar

Webinar series

Citizen Science and Participatory Agricultural Research

1000FARMS Webinar Series

Online

Explore the wider webinar series bringing researchers and practitioners together around citizen science, farmer participation, and agricultural innovation.

Watch the webinar series

Research in the field

Moments from field-based research, poster presentations, and international conferences.

Bolanle Adebayo beside a research poster on citizen science, leader identity, and agricultural innovation — Sharing citizen science and agricultural innovation research

Bolanle Adebayo with colleagues at the 26th International Leadership Association Global Conference in Chicago — 26th International Leadership Association Global Conference, Chicago

Bolanle Adebayo presenting a poster on cultural competence through experiential learning — Presenting research on cultural competence and intercultural mentoring

Honors & awards

Outstanding Dissertation Award

Association of Leadership Educators

July 2026

Journal Article of the Year

Association for Communication Excellence

July 2026

Outstanding Dissertation Award nominee

Virginia Tech — Social Science, Business, Education, and Humanities category

March 2026

ALCE 2025 Outstanding Dissertation Award

Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, Virginia Tech

February 2026

See all honors and awards

Research areas

Citizen science and food systems leadership

Leader identity development

Intercultural mentoring and cultural competence

Agricultural extension, communication, and farmer engagement

Program evaluation and systems thinking education

I am especially interested in work that connects evidence with practical action and involves communities, practitioners, or other stakeholders in the learning process.

Browse research and publications