Dr. Ingham has advanced knowledge about the soil food web for more than four decades. Widely recognized as the world’s foremost soil biologist, she’s passionate about empowering ordinary people to bring the soils in their community back to life. Dr. Elaine’s™ Soil Food Web Approach has been used to successfully restore the ecological functions of soils on six continents.

In the mid-1980s and 90s, after earning her PhD in microbiology, Dr. Ingham served as an associate professor teaching forest science, botany, and plant pathology at Oregon State University. She later founded Soil Foodweb, Inc., a consulting firm and training program dedicated to advancing sustainable agriculture in which a healthy soil food web promotes plant growth, reduces reliance on inorganic chemicals, lowers farming input costs, and regenerates ecosystems. Her firm works toward its mission through direct consultation, workshops, online training, and public speaking engagements with a principal focus in North America, Latin America and Europe.

Through much of the last decade, Dr. Ingham also has applied her knowledge to support allied organizations. She is an author of the USDA’s Soil Biology Primer and also served as the Chief Scientist for the Rodale Institute and Managing Scientist at Environment Celebration Institute. She consults throughout the world but calls Corvallis, Oregon, her home. She offers training, classes and certificates at https://www.soilfoodweb.com/.