Barefoot Rural Research is a small research practice founded on a simple idea: the best way to understand a community is to go where it lives, listen, and learn from the people who know it best.

Ande Tawwater, Founder & Principal Researcher

Ande is a sociologist and cultural anthropologist based in Lockhart, Texas. She has taught college students for decades at local colleges and universities, including courses in sociology, social problems, minority groups, and cultural anthropology. She holds an M.A. in sociology from Texas Woman's University and is ABD in applied cultural anthropology, having completed her Ph.D. work at Texas State University. An accomplished writer and researcher, she brings more than 30 years of social science experience.

Before founding Barefoot Rural Research, Ande spent years in the nonprofit sector in North Texas. She directed both the Dallas Peace Center and Friends of the Family, a domestic and relationship violence shelter, and held other direct, applied positions addressing cultural and social issues. In her academic life, she served as president of the Association for Humanist Sociology. That work taught her how much depends on listening well and on being honest about what research can and cannot tell us. She is also experienced in public and private grant writing and in fundraising for nonprofit organizations.

OUR APPROACH:

•       Place: we start with local history, geography, and economy.

•       People: we listen to residents and treat their knowledge as expertise.

•       Perspective: we connect community voices to the decisions that affect them.

•       Respect: we protect participants' privacy and share what we learn responsibly.