Meet the Management Team: Project Directors

This is the first in a series of posts to increase familiarity with and transparency of the AFP management team.  These are the project directors behind the AFP.

Susan Clark
Virginia Tech
Horticulture Department
AFP Project Director; Community Food Assessment lead; Virginia Network lead; Curriculum

Susan Clark is an associate professor in the Horticulture Department at Virginia Tech. She is also the director of the Civic Agriculture and Food Systems Minor. Her research interests include sustainable food and agricultural systems, civic agriculture, community development, collaborative and experiential learning modalities, and assessment of student learning.

Cheryl Brown

West Virginia University
Agricultural and Resource Economics
AFP Co-Project Director; West Virginia Network lead; Community Food Assessment; Food System Model

Cheryl Brown is an associate professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at West Virginia University. Her research focuses on multiple aspects of agricultural sustainability, including organic and direct marketing, small farm viability, local and regional food system development, community food security, and impacts of the food system on health.

Michelle Schroeder-Moreno
North Carolina State University
Department of Crop Science
AFP Co-Project Director; North Carolina Network lead; Curriculum lead; Community Food Assessment

Michelle Schroeder-Moreno is an associate professor in the Department of Crop Science at North Carolina State University.  She is also the director of the Agroecology Minor Program and the Agroecology Concentration in the Plant and Soil Sciences Program. Her research is focused on understanding benefits from mutualistic mycorrhizal fungi and sustainable management practices for a variety of agricultural crops.

Steven Hodges

Virginia Tech
Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences
AFP Co-Project Director; Food System Model lead

Steve Hodges is a professor of Soil Sciences and Ecology of Managed Ecosystems in the Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech.  His research interests include the benefits and services society derives from managed ecosystems, how land change affects the supply of those services, and the application of systems thinking/systems dynamics modeling to holistically understand systems.

Kim Niewolny

Virginia Tech
Department of Agricultural and Extension Education
AFP Co-Project Director; eXtension Community of Practice lead; Curriculum

Kim Niewolny is an assistant professor of Adult and Community Education in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Virginia Tech. Her research is centered on a critical examination of the social and cultural context of adult and community education, as it is applied to historical and emerging issues in agriculture, food systems, and community development practice.  She is also on the Program Management Team of the Virginia Beginning Farmers and Rancher Coalition Program.