NORFOLK, Neb. -- An advocate for agriculture with experience in communication, education, and leadership development has been hired as the director of the National Center of the Community College Alliance for Agriculture Advancement (C2A3), based at Northeast Community College in Norfolk.
Dr. B. Lynn Gordon, Grand Island, previously served as an Extension Agricultural Leadership specialist at South Dakota State University and as director of Agricultural Promotion for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. She also worked for nearly 15 years as an education and communications director for state and national beef industry organizations and held positions in marketing and public relations for agriculture companies.
With her passion for leadership and agriculture, she created LEADER Consulting, LLC, authoring columns and articles for regional and agricultural publications and conducting leadership training.
She holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, with her doctoral research focused on “How people rise to leadership roles in the Beef Industry.” She also earned an M.A. in Business and Marketing Education from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. from North Dakota State University, majoring in Agricultural Economics and Communications. Gordon is a graduate of the South Dakota Agricultural Rural Leaders Program (SDARL).
Tracy Kruse, vice president of Development and External Affairs at Northeast, serves as the executive director for C2A3.
“We are excited to have Dr. Gordon lead this effort to create a national hub for two-year ag education,” Kruse said, “developing expertise and regionally specific programming and curriculum that can be replicated across the country.”
C2A3 is a collaboration of nine schools across eight states that began eight years ago. Northeast will serve as the headquarters for a national agriculture consortium for two-year colleges, serving as the lead institution and fiscal agent for the $9-million, four-year program, a cooperative agreement between USDA-NRCS and C2A3. The goal is to increase the reach of the consortium to include at least 50 community and technical college members by the end of the four-year award period.
As director, Gordon will provide leadership for the day-to-day management of the Alliance’s initiatives for partner stakeholders. This will include marketing and promotion of the initiative, implementing student leadership development programs and internship opportunities, building career pathways and oversight of applied research and outreach activities. Three additional staff members will support the Alliance.
“C2A3 is a unique platform to cultivate the next generation of agricultural innovators and meet the evolving workforce needs in the ever-changing agricultural industry,” Gordon said. “I look forward to fostering partnerships across community colleges nationwide to strengthen and create impactful specialized curriculum, research, and applied programs.”
More information about C2A3 can be found at www.agalliance.net.
C2A3 is a collaboration of nine schools across eight states that began eight years ago as a 501c3 organization. Member schools are Central Lakes College, Staples, Minn.; Clark State College, Springfield, Ohio; Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Ill.; Ivy Tech Community College, Lafayette, Ind.; Lake Area Technical College, Watertown, S.D.; Northcentral Technical College, Wausau, Wis.; Northeast Community College, Norfolk, Neb.; Northeast Iowa Community College, Calmar, Iowa; and Richland Community College, Decatur, Ill.
###