The nonprofit LEAD Maryland Foundation \u2013 which works to increase the number of leaders serving agriculture, natural resources and rural communities \u2013 has awarded fellowships to 22 emerging leaders from across the state to participate in the 2013-14 LEAD Class.<\/p>\n
\u201cLEAD Maryland has been remarkably successful in identifying and developing an on-going cadre of leaders who understand the complexities of agriculture and natural resources,\u201d said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, who is also a member of the LEAD Board of Directors. \u201cAgriculture and natural resources, as well as rural development issues are far from simple. LEAD Maryland helps ensure that we have informed and effective leaders working on public policy and public education. I congratulate and welcome all of the new fellows.\u201d<\/p>\n
LEAD Maryland fellowships are for two years and provide participants with public issues education, skills building, leadership development, and personal growth. By participating in the program, Fellows become better equipped to solve problems, identify resources, engage and educate others, and influence public policy important to Maryland’s farmers. LEAD selects fellows in a competitive process who have demonstrated emerging leadership abilities and a genuine interest in agricultural, natural resources, and rural community issues.<\/p>\n
The new fellows (by county) are:<\/p>\n
Anne Arundel County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kristen Robinson, Financial Programs Officer, Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO), Arnold;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Stone Slade, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Annapolis; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Carol West, Executive Director, Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF), Annapolis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Baltimore County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ashley Force, Coordinator of Programs, Promotions, and Public Relations, Maryland Agriculture Education Foundation, Perry Hall.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Caroline County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Amy Cawley, Food Solicitor, Maryland Food Bank, Denton.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cecil County:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Amanda Heilman, Agronomist, AET Consulting, Inc., Elkton.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dorchester County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Michael “Dale” Brown, District Manager, Dorchester Soil Conservation District\/U-Pick strawberry operation, Cambridge;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Garrett Luthy, Farmer, Greenbrier Farms (grain production), Cambridge;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Wendell Meekins Jr., Farm manager\/ Owner\/Operator, Handley Farms Inc., (grain & poultry); Cambridge; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Nathan Wolf, Equipment Specialist, Black Gold Farms (potatoes), Hurlock.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Frederick County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kelli Wilson, Loan Officer, MidAtlantic Farm Credit, Jefferson (Frederick County).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Howard County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kathy Zimmerman, Agricultural Development Manager, Howard County Economic Development Authority, Columbia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kent County<\/p>\n
\u2022 William McCollum, Agronomist, DuPont Pioneer, Galena; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Valerie Walthert, dairy farm employee, Fawnwood Farm (dairy), Worton.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Montgomery County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Paula Linthicum, Office Manager\/ Proprietor, Seneca Ayr Farms, LLC and Homefront Accounting, Laytonsville.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prince George\u2019s County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Bradley Miller, Sales Manager, Miller Farms (produce and free range egg production), Clinton; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Shelby Watson, Farm Manager, Montpelier Farms (grain, vegetable, livestock, agritourism), Brandywine.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Queen Anne\u2019s County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Nicole Fiorellino, Graduate Assistant, University of Maryland, Department of Environmental Sciences & Technology, Chester; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lenny Miles Jr., Farm Manager\/ Equipment Operator, Bluestem Farms LLC and TK Farms LLC (organic production), Chestertown.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
St. Mary\u2019s County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Melissa Korando, Manager, Solomons Island Winery, Great Mills.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wicomico County<\/p>\n
\u2022 Josh Hastings, Policy Manager, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Mardela Springs; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Robert “Ken” Sterling Jr., Sales Representative, Elanco Animal Health\u2019s U.S. Poultry Business Unit, a division of Eli Lilly, Salisbury.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For more information, contact Susan R. Harrison, executive director, LEAD Maryland Foundation, Inc. 410-827-8056 (ext 136) or by email at: leadmd@umd.edu<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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The nonprofit LEAD Maryland Foundation \u2013 which works to increase the number of leaders serving agriculture, natural resources and rural communities \u2013 has awarded fellowships to 22 emerging leaders from across the state to participate in the 2013-14 LEAD Class. \u201cLEAD Maryland has been remarkably successful in identifying and developing an on-going cadre of leaders Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[398,396,397],"class_list":["post-2517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release","tag-22-fellows","tag-leadership-skills","tag-maryland-foundation"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2517\/revisions\/2518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}