AgriProspects Team
Extension Foundation
AgriProspects Program Manager
Jason is the Program Manager for AgriProspects and the Co-Project Director for the NIFA National Extension Clearinghouse for Industry and the Workforce grant. Jason brings over 28 years of public, private, and academic sector experience to the team. Jason has served in a variety of paid and volunteer roles in Extension at both Penn State Extension and University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Beyond Extension, Jason’s experience includes grassroots organizing, environmental regulatory compliance and enforcement, inland and coastal emergency spill response, oil and gas development, pipeline safety and awareness programming, corporate social responsibility, database management and analytics, community and economic development, board and leadership development, and entrepreneurship.
Clint Cummings is an Extension Specialist and Project Director for Skill Up Tennessee, the University of Tennessee Extension’s SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) program. In this role he works closely with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to implement a unique statewide SNAP E&T program. For several years before this, he led statewide training and coalition development efforts and worked with staff and community partners on local programming for individuals and families with limited resources. He began his Extension career as an Extension agent in a rural setting before moving to an urban county and then to the state Extension office. Clint has a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology: Family Studies and a Master of Science in Educational Psychology: Adult Education, both from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was previously a Workforce Development Extension Network Fellow with the ECOP Workforce Development Program Action Team (PAT) and now serves as the National Network Lead and Southern Region Network Coordinator for AgriProspects.
Engagement & Learning Lead,
Southern Region Coordinator
Northeast Region Coordinator
In her nearly 20-year career working with Extension at the University of Rhode Island, Kate Hardesty has served as a program manager, an educator, a program development specialist, and an administrator of educational programs that serve college students, professionals, community-based volunteers, and consumers. A self-proclaimed “Jill-of-all-trades”, Kate works across disciplines to build programs that disseminate timely, science-based horticultural, agricultural and clean energy-related information to individuals, families, communities and governments. These include the RI Agriculture and Food System Fellows Program (2023), Home Horticulture Certificate (est. 2018), Energy Fellows Program (2008) and the Invasive Plant Management Certification Program (2008), to name a few. Kate earned her Bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture and her Master of Arts in marine affairs from URI. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, hiking and playing oboe in a rock band.
Andrea Franchini is the Program Assistant for Agriculture & Food Systems at The University of Maryland Extension, Baltimore City office. Her work supports Maryland agriculture and communities by engaging in research and providing resources and education for beginning and urban farmers’ success. Her Extension appointment extends to workforce development programming, where she manages Extension’s Workforce Development Summer Internship Program to expose undergraduates to Extension education and prepare the next generation of agricultural professionals. She has recently been appointed the Northeast Regional Network Coordinator for AgriProspects, a program of the Extension Foundation, aimed to foster regional and national collaboration and capacity to respond to the workforce needs in agriculture.
Northeast Region Coordinator
Data & Insights Lead,
Southern Region Coordinator
Dr. Mark Mains is the Extension Director for Workforce and Equity initiatives in the University of Kentucky’s, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. In this position, he works with the 120 county extension offices to foster individual and community success through economic and workforce development programs.
Dr. Mains is a lifelong Kentuckian and has worked for over 20 years in the Cooperative Extension system as a county agent, state specialist, and state 4-H program leader. He has earned three degrees from UK in agriculture biotechnology, career and technical education, and family science. He is committed to creating stronger communities, families, and individuals through the programs and educational efforts of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.
Tanya Hall is the North Central Region’s Content Coordinator for the AgriProspects Workforce Development Network sponsored by NIFA via the Extension Foundation. In this role, she will be working with a national team of Extension professionals to identify, categorize, elevate and expand agriculture workforce development programs for adults. At Purdue University, she is a Community Development Regional Educator and focuses on Community Economics and Workforce Development. Located in the south-central portion of the state, she received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Purdue University’s Agriculture Economics program.
North Central Coordinator
North Central Coordinator
As an Extension Specialist for Rural Prosperity Nebraska and Professor in Agricultural Economics, Dr. Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel has been involved in workforce development on several levels. Early in her career she was the Director of a Regional University Learning Center where she worked with businesses to offer customized skills-based training to employees. She also was a part of a multi-state research team, where she assisted rural communities in identifying local workforce trends and translating them into realistic actions for the future. Burkhart-Kriesel has served on the regional and statewide Workforce Investment (WIB) Board and designed and implemented a workforce skills rural tourism online and in-person program. Currently she is teaching an online graduate course in Workforce Development as part of a community development certificate program and working with a team to develop a non-credit online University badge designed to serve community development practitioners.
Burkhart-Kriesel is a longtime co-owner/operator of a regional small grain seed agri-business and has worked both statewide and nationally with agricultural organizations.
Megan Kemp is the Urban Agriculture & Food Systems Coordinator for AgriProspects and the Urban Agriculture & Food Systems Fellow for the UAFS Program Action Team. Megan is an extension specialist on the Iowa State University Farm, Food, and Enterprise Development’s food systems team. She supports the food systems team with facilitation and programming for areas involving local food supply chains, including food hubs, niche processing and distribution; Farm to School and Early Care; and farmworkers. She also supports research and programming for Community Food Systems facilitation, coordination, and project assistance.
Urban Ag & Food Systems Coordinator
1890 Region Coordinator
Dr. Lana Petrie, currently the Project Manager and Assistant Project Director for the NEXTGeneration Inclusion Consortium at Tennessee State University, will be the Southern Regional Networking Coordinator for AgriProspects. She has a diverse educational background and experience supporting food and education access. Holding a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Murray State University, a master’s degree in international and Higher Education from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. in Agriculture from Virginia Tech, Dr. Petrie brings a unique blend of expertise to the agriculture industry. With a passion for fostering inclusive environments, she has taught in Magdelena de Kino, Mexico, and served as an AmeriCorps Senior Leader and AmeriCorps Leader for Montana Campus Compact and Indigenous Research and STEM Education. Dr. Petrie is committed to increasing everyone’s access to education and food resources.
Heidi is a life-long Alaskan and has worked as a Professor of Extension for nearly 20 years with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She leads a variety of projects including the Alaska Tribes Extension Program which promotes food sovereignty and security throughout Alaska. She secured funding for and launched the Alaska Growers School in 2010 to deliver education for new and beginning farmers throughout Alaska Online and in person. She teaches skills promoting career readiness in agriculture and health and wellness throughout Alaska, particularly in rural Alaska. She partners with Tribes and Traditional Knowledge Holders to offer Tribally driven outreach. Heidi has filmed over 75 videos for a YouTube series called In the Alaska Garden with Heidi Rader and writes the associated blog, It Grows in Alaska. From 2020 to 2025 she served as a governing board member of the Alaska Food Policy Council and co-chair of the AFPC Traditional Foods Working Group. She teaches Grow Your Own Food, a Massive Online Open Course with EdX, and a 3 credit course at UAF: Growing a Sustainable, Productive Garden.
Western Coordinator and 1994 Liaison
Western Coordinator and 1994 Liaison
Austin brings extensive experience in non-credit workforce development, Extension programming, and tribal engagement, primarily through roles at Utah State University Extension. His past work involved providing technical assistance, capacity building, and conducting needs assessments for community-based organizations and tribal communities across six Western states. Austin brings a strong background in data management and has collaborated with tribal communities on projects ranging from water quality monitoring to cultural preservation during roles with the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians and the Great Basin Institute. Austin currently serves as Program Specialist with Utah State’s Rural Online Initiative.
