Rizpah Bellard is a graduate of
Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (BS '15). Raised on a Black Angus cattle ranch, Cornell was the perfect fit. Through both lived and academic experiences, Rizpah has combined natural sciences with social sciences. In her professional experience, Rizpah has tackled many socio-biological issues such as human trafficking, mental health illnesses, homelessness, global health, and education. After many years working with socially disadvantaged populations, Rizpah has pinpointed a major source of imbalance between the social and biological worlds - a widening gap between humans and their food.
As an entrepreneur, Rizpah founded Nova Farming to educate and expose society to the American and global agriculture sectors and build a bridge to agriculture as an occupation, to eventually even out the imbalance between society and nature. Rizpah also has experiences in global agriculture in Changchun, China, Cali, Colombia and Akure, Nigeria (Ondo State).
Rizpah holds a Master of Arts from
The University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies in International Studies with a Concentration in Human Trafficking and Forced Labor and a Certificate of Global Health (‘20).
Rizpah is a recipient of a
Fulbright Scholar Award (2020), a member of
COWGIRL Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Class of 2024, and is the Board President of Magdalena's Daughters, an anti-trafficking nonprofit in San Bernardino. Recently, she has been featured in the
Fresno Bee, The Fresno Business Journal, KVPR/NPR, ABC30 twice, KSEE24 and the Western Landowners Alliance for her work in agriculture, housing and community service. In October 2024, Congressmember Jim Costa visited her Fresno Ranch and awarded her a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for her work through Nova Farming.
