As co-founder and executive director of AgroFrontera (a non-profit organization located in the Dominican Republic), Dr. Payton leads programs that enhance biodiversity conservation and improve the economic performance and social responsibility of local, national and international food systems, with particular focus on improving livelihoods of small-scale farmers and artisanal fishers. Frederick worked at the Institute of Community and Area Development and the Office of International Agriculture at the University of Georgia in Athens, USA and was a senior scientist and interim director of the International Potato Center’s Central American and Caribbean regional office. Dr. Payton has served on the board of directors of Organic Farming Research Foundation, Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and Georgia Organics. He holds a Ph.D. (horticulture) from Cornell University.