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KEYNOTE SPEAKER
[KEYNOTE TITLE Pending]
Dr. Chastity Warren English, Professor and Program Coordinator of Agricultural Education at North Carolina A&T State University
As a Professor and Program Coordinator of Agricultural Education at North Carolina A&T State University, I lead across teaching, research, student success, and community engagement with a focus on advancing equitable and inclusive agricultural education systems.
I have authored 23 scholarly publications centered on access, inclusion, workforce readiness, and leadership development in agricultural education. My research examines how creating learning environments that affirm and support all learners, while intentionally developing critical professional and interpersonal skills, strengthens outcomes across agricultural and extension education contexts. My work is grounded in exploring how equity, leadership, and youth development intersect to expand opportunity and impact for diverse student populations.
I actively contribute to the profession through service and leadership. I serve in an advisory capacity for the NC A&T Chapter of MANRRS and Collegiate Farm Bureau, hold a position on the NC FFA Board of Directors, and coordinate the NC Farm Bureau’s Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders (IFAL) summer program at NC A&T, an initiative focused on cultivating the next generation of agricultural leaders.
With over 24 years of experience as an agricultural educator, I focus on preparing and empowering future educators, leaders, and professionals in agriculture. I earned both my B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agricultural Education from North Carolina A&T State University and my Ph.D. in Career and Technical Education with a concentration in Agricultural Education from Virginia Tech.
I am married to Corey D. English, an educator and administrator in Guilford County Schools, and we are proud parents of two children, CJ and Charity. In my personal time, I enjoy reading, journaling, traveling, gardening, and embracing moments of rest and reflection.
Additional Speakers:
Information will be added to this page as it becomes available. View the conference program on Sched for more details about session times, locations, and more.
Why the Social Imaginary Matters: Knowledge and Praxis for Sustainable Food Systems
Dr. Kim L. Niewolny , Director for the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation and Professor of Community Education and Development
Kim Niewolny is a Professor of Community Educaton and Development and serves as the founding director of the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation at Virginia Tech. Since 2009, Kim’s research, teaching, and extension programming has emphasized food systems–based community development from an interdisciplinary and critical perspective. As a scholar-practitioner, Kim focuses on the interface of sustainable food systems and the praxis of community food work from classroom to community spaces at the local, regional, and global level. Currently funded initiatives include regional and sustainable food systems; farmworker food, health and wellness; the “Stories of Community Food Work initiative” and more. She has previously served as President for the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and has been a board member of the Virginia Food Systems Council since 2018. At the Center, her focus is on supporting research, outreach, and education that generates and promotes creative possibilities for a food system that is abundant and resilient so that all may thrive.
[PRESENTATION TITLE Pending]
Dr. Erica Feuerbacher, Associate Professor of Applied Animal Behavior & Welfare
Dr. Feuerbacher's research focuses on domestic animal behavior, welfare, and learning/training. Most of her work focuses on dogs, but she also work with horses, cats, and other domesticated species. She explores fundamental learning processes in domestic animals and how those translate into the most effective and humane training and handling techniques. Additionally, she evaluates interventions for improving shelter dog welfare, by evaluating the effects on behavioral and physiological measures of stress. She also investigate human-dog dynamics and how to improve the human-dog relationship. While some of her research focuses on basic learning processes, her research always has a view towards the applied dimension and how we can help companion animals and their caregivers. Current research explores interventions to improve shelter dog welfare, identifying and enhancing reinforcers for use in training, assessing interventions to address behavioral issues in dogs and horses, robot-animal interactions, and using citizen science to train dogs to detect agriculturally-relevant pests.