Beth Nelson Named Regional Coordinator and Director of Research and Education Programs for NCR-SARE
Dr. Beth Nelson has been named the Regional Coordinator and Director of Research and Education Programs for the North Central Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (NCR-SARE). Her appointment is effective Monday, July 16, 2012, when she replaced Interim Regional Coordinator Dr. Vance Morey, who was filling in for Dr. Bill Wilcke, retired in November 2011.
Housed at the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul campus, Dr. Nelson will serve as the key staff person to the region's Administrative Council, which develops the regional office's program goals and makes funding decisions. Dr. Nelson will provide leadership for the program, supervise staff, and manage grants and budgets. Dr. Nelson is the first female to hold this position for NCR-SARE.
Dr. Nelson earned graduate degrees in plant physiology at Purdue University and the University of Minnesota before joining the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) in 2000 as the Associate Program Director for the Information Exchange Program. MISA is a partnership between the University of Minnesota and the Sustainers' Coalition.
In 2004, she began serving as the SARE State Coordinator in Minnesota, where she facilitated state-level educator professional development in sustainable agriculture, and promoted other SARE research and education opportunities. Dr. Nelson has served as the Associate Director of NCR-SARE since 2010.
NCR-SARE is one of four regional offices that run the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, a nationwide grants and education program funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
SARE's mission is to advance sustainable innovation to American agriculture. NCR-SARE covers America's Midwest, offering competitive grants and educational opportunities to the region's producers, scientists, educators, institutions, organizations and others exploring sustainable agriculture.
For more information contact:
North Central Region
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE)
612-626-3113
www.northcentralsare.org
