Mini Land-Grant Conference Plenary Session Speakers
Plenary Session ITuesday, June 10 |
Strategically Communicating the Land-Grant Mission in the 21st Century |
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MODERATOR Marianne Smith Edge, CARET, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky Marianne Smith Edge, MS, RDN, LD, FADA, FAND is Founder and Principal, The AgriNutrition Edge, providing strategic counsel and communication strategies for food, nutrition and ag organizations across the food value chain. She serves on the Board of Advisors for Curious Plot, a Minneapolis based food and agriculture marketing and public relations firm. Marianne is also an assistant Adjunct Professor, Department of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, at the University of Kentucky. Prior to founding The AgriNutrition Edge, Marianne served as Senior Vice President, Nutrition & Food Safety Communications for the International Food Information Council (IFIC) in Washington, DC. Before joining IFIC, she was the owner of MSE and Associates, LLC providing strategic nutrition and foodservice consulting services for the food and healthcare industry for over two decades. Marianne is a former president of The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and serves as a CARET (Council on Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching) delegate from the University of Kentucky College of Ag, Food and Environment and serves on the National CARET Executive Committee as the liaison to the Board of Health & Human Sciences. |
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KEYNOTE PRESENTOR Blake Woolsey, Chief Communications & Development Officer, Heartland Forward As a native of Texas, Woolsey has been consulting for nearly three years helping clients primarily with strategy, communications, and development. Prior, she served as the executive vice president at Fayetteville, Ark.-based public relations agency Mitchell from 2008 to 2018. She served on the executive committee and advised clients in media relations, strategy, and messaging for global brands and nonprofits. Prior to her role with Mitchell, Woolsey was a partner and co-owner of Executive Communications Consultants, LLC, where she offered facilitated strategy sessions, public speaking workshops, media training, and private coaching for executives. She also served as a senior development officer at the University of Arkansas’ College of Business, taking the lead on the school’s Campaign for the 21st Century and solidifying a $50 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, which at the time was the largest ever gift to an American business school. Woolsey was honored in 2018 by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce with the Mrs. Sarah Jessie Young Leadership by Example Award. She was also appointed to the Northwest Arkansas National Airport’s board of directors in 2015 and has served as its first female chair since 2018. |
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PANELIST Kelli Russell, Assistant Extension Professor, Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology, Auburn University Dr. Kelli Russell is an Assistant Extension Professor of Rural Sociology in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Auburn University. She received her B.A. in history and political science from Wheaton College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in sociology from Mississippi State University with a concentration in rural sociology. Prior to graduate school, Kelli worked as a spokesperson for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and later as a congressional staffer on rural and agricultural issues for Congressman Alan Nunnelee. Kelli’s research and Extension interests center on the intersection of agriculture, people, organizations, and communities in relation to economic and social well-being. Currently, Kelli is working on USDA grant-funded research and Extension projects regarding social, economic, and generational trends in agriculture and the rural workforce. |
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PANELIST Latasha Ford, Research Communications Manager, College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology, Fort Valley State University. Latasha Ford, former newspaper journalist, serves as the research communications manager in the Agricultural Communications Department for Fort Valley State University’s College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology. She holds leadership roles as the vice president of the Association for Communication Excellence, chair of the 1890 Land-grant Communications Committee and the 1890 region representative on the Communications and Marketing Committee of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Board on Agriculture Assembly. Additionally, she is a writer for the National Impacts Database Communications Team and represents the 1890 region on the Southern Research Communicators Consortium Steering Committee. Latasha has received awards for her writing, photography and co-development of FVSU’s Writer's Playground program. She frequently presents at conferences to promote agriculture and communications. Latasha holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies. |
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PANELIST Nick Kordsmeier, Director of Communications, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Nick Kordsmeier is the director of communications for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station within the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. He works with a team of talented communications professionals to promote research developments and scientific discoveries through news stories, videos, publications, websites, and social media content. After graduating with bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering and physics from the University of Arkansas, Kordsmeier spent several years with an air quality consulting firm in Dallas before returning to Arkansas and joining the Division of Agriculture. Kordsmeier is currently pursuing a master's in operations management. |
Plenary Session IIWednesday, June 11 |
Growing Together: Faculty Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Advancing Land-Grant Missions |
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KEYNOTE PRESENTOR Randy Woodson, Chancellor, North Carolina State University Dr. Randy Woodson became North Carolina State University’s 14th chancellor in April 2010. Woodson leads the largest university in North Carolina, with nearly 38,000 students and a $2 billion budget. Under his leadership, the university created, implemented and completed “The Pathway to the Future,” a strategic plan that elevated NC State’s recognition among the nation’s top public research universities. In 2021, NC State created the “Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary” strategic plan to build on this momentum and carry the university even further. A nationally recognized scholar and academic leader, Chancellor Woodson came to NC State having most recently served as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at Purdue University. An internationally renowned plant molecular biologist specializing in reproductive processes in agricultural crops, he earned his undergraduate degree in horticulture from the University of Arkansas and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant physiology from Cornell University. Under Woodson’s leadership, NC State has become a preeminent research enterprise known for solving real-world challenges — a true Think and Do university. His strategic vision has enabled the university to advance in areas of student success, innovative research and collaborative partnerships. This has resulted in students ready to solve real-world challenges, public-private partnerships that transform ideas into solutions, and a creative, engaging center of learning and exploration for all. |
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KEYNOTE PRESENTOR Deacue Fields III, Vice President for Agriculture, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Dr. Deacue Fields was appointed to the position of Vice President for Agriculture of the University of Arkansas System on July 1, 2022. As Vice President, he is responsible for leading the University System’s coordinated agriculture program including the Cooperative Extension Service and the Agriculture Experiment Station. With almost 1,200 employees, the Division has faculty and facilities located across the state, including a presence in all 75 counties. The Division has a unique mission of serving the statewide agriculture community in Arkansas. Prior to this role, Dr. Fields served as Dean and Senior Associate Vice President-Academics for the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and Division of Agriculture at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He was a faculty member at Auburn University from 2002 to 2018 and served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology from 2013 to 2018. He received his B.S. degree (1993) from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his M.S. degree (1995) from University Missouri, Columbia, and a Ph.D. (2002) from Louisiana State University, all in Agricultural Economics. |
Plenary Session IIIThursday, June 12 |
AI in Agriculture and the Environment |
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KEYNOTE PRESENTOR AND PANELIST David Warren, AI Program Leader, The Extension Foundation and Senior Director of Integrated Digital Strategies, Oklahoma State University David Warren is an expert in artificial intelligence and digital transformation, with over two decades of global experience leading digital initiatives in both the private and public sectors. David has played a key leadership role in developing ExtensionBot, a chatbot tailored for the Extension Service. His expertise spans across strategic planning, information technology, and marketing. David holds an MBA from Oklahoma State University and is an Adjunct Professor there teaching Web and Digital Marketing Analytics. He is Senior Director Digital Strategies at OSU and AI Program Leader at the Extension Foundation, and speaks frequently to national groups on the topic of AI and Extension. |
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KEYNOTE PRESENTOR Dana Choi, Assistant Professor of Precision Ag and Agricultural Robotics, Department of Ag and Bio Engineering, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, University of Florida Dr. Daeun "Dana" Choi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Florida, where she leads the Smart Agriculture Lab at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. Her current research interests include precision agriculture, with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence, robotics for specialty crops, and the integration of digital twins and synthetic data technologies. Dr. Choi actively contributes to the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence (CAAI), an interdisciplinary initiative at the University of Florida focused on developing and commercializing AI-driven robotics solutions for agricultural challenges. Through her extension activities, she promotes AI literacy among agricultural extension professionals and stakeholders by providing workshops, seminars, and online resources designed to support the practical adoption of AI technologies in extension programs and agricultural practices. |
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PANELIST Robert Gilbert, Dean for Research and Executive Director for Academic Affairs, University of Florida Dr. Gilbert is Dean for Research and Executive Director for Academic Affairs at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. In this role he is responsible for overseeing research mission and administration, with oversight of 15 Departments and 12 Research and Education Centers. His office manages more than $9 million in resources that are used to strengthen the capacity and innovation of UF/IFAS research. Gilbert joined the agronomy faculty at the UF/IFAS Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade, FL in 2000. He then became the Center Director until 2014 when he was appointed as the Agronomy Department Chair on UF’s main campus. He also served for 14 months as UF/IFAS Interim Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Under his leadership as research Dean, UF has ranked #1 nationally since 2018 in agriculture and natural resource expenditures in the National Science Foundation Higher Education Research Database. |
