Update 12/05/2020: The deadline has passed to submit for this year's membership to the Administrative Council but please contact us if you have an interest in serving in the future. Thank you!
The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is seeking individuals to serve on its Administrative Council (AC).
The 20-member governance committee sets program policies for Northeast SARE, participates in the grant review process and makes final award decisions for all grant programs. Current council members include farmers, agency personnel, Extension and nonprofit staff, researchers, industry representatives and others from across the Northeast.
Currently, Northeast SARE is seeking to fill three open seats representing:
- agricultural lending and farm financial management;
- non-profit organizations engaged in environmental work; and
- for-profit agricultural businesses/industry.
Interested individuals should submit (preferably as one PDF file) a letter describing their interest in serving on the council, a resume and a short description of the business or organization where they work. Please send this information to Northeast SARE director Dr. Vern Grubinger at vernon.grubinger@uvm.edu by December 4, 2020. Email with questions or go to www.northeastsare.org/NortheastSAREAC to learn more about the Council.
The opportunity to serve on the Administrative Council for Northeast SARE over the past six years has been an educational and rewarding experience. I am proud that the work SARE supports is helping to create innovative, responsible, and sustainable opportunities within agriculture.
Members must commit to two meetings per year and are also encouraged to participate in grant reviews, around 10 days per year. Although a volunteer committee, members are reimbursed for meeting-related expenses.
Candidates should understand and support sustainable agriculture and have experience working with farmers. They need to appreciate the need for a range of approaches to research and education to serve different types of farmers and communities engaged in the wide range of agricultural activities in the region.
They must also work in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, or Washington, D.C. While anyone is invited to apply, Northeast SARE encourages women, people in the LGBTQ+ community, and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) to consider serving on the Council.
Northeast SARE is one of four regional SARE programs funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The program offers six competitive grant programs for farmers, educators, agricultural service providers, researchers, graduate students and others to address key issues affecting the sustainability of agriculture. To learn more about Northeast SARE, visit www.northeastsare.org.