Today’s guest: Janine Woods, Ph.D., NC Cooperative Extension specialist, international agriculture advocate

Her STEM bio: Dr. Woods is an international agricultural development professional who is skilled in agricultural extensions systems, both international and domestic; with proven capacity to work in practitioner and academic settings, as well as working with vulnerable and established populations as a facilitator, liaison, leader and educator.

She holds a PhD in International Extension Systems, Agriculture Leadership & Agriculture Education. Since the recording of this episode in February 2020, she was promoted to Interim Program Leader of Agriculture & Natural Resources at Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T State University. She has worked in agriculture in the US and various South American and Caribbean countries.

Show notes: In this episode, Linda talks with Dr. Woods about the role of her advisor/mentor in helping her choice her major (agriculture), which led to a three-year stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, working with coffee farmers on market access and trade.

They discuss a topic that some might think is taboo: black professionals in agriculture. Agricultural disciplines cover more than just farming and raising animals, as their discussion reveals.

Terms used include:
Cooperative extension was formerly known as agricultural extension. Read more about the Cooperative Extension System here.

Peace Corps was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, partly to help US citizens cultivate a better understanding of other people groups in the world.

Help spread the word:
If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know in the comments below. Do you have questions? Use the contact form to reach out to us.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast; we release an episode each month.

Show Sponsor:

STEM Dreams podcast is sponsored by Wildlands Engineering, a water resources engineering firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wildlands is dedicated to increasing diversity in engineering and environmental sciences like geology and ecology.

Wildlands, thank you for helping us help the next generation of STEM dreamers.

Credits: Show sound effects and music was sourced from FreeSound.org.