The NCR-SARE program would like to welcome Rob Myers to the NCR-SARE staff. Myers has been hired as the Professional Development Program (PDP) Coordinator for the program, replacing Interim PDP Coordinator Linda Kleinschmit and her predecessor, Paula Ford. The PDP coordinator provides leadership for the region’s professional development effort. Myers will work closely with Linda Kleinschmit, who will continue in her role as PDP Associate Coordinator.
Myers did his graduate work at University of Minnesota, obtaining M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in agronomy. Following completion of his Ph.D., he served as a Congressional Science Fellow, working on the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee. He then spent five years as a faculty member in agronomy at University of Missouri, subsequently serving as national director of SARE from 1995-97. He grew up on a family farm in central IL and attended Illinois State University as an undergraduate in agricultural science. Myers will be based in Columbia, MO, where he was previously founder and director of the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute, a nonprofit organization working on crop diversification and agricultural sustainability.