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Co-Associate Chair of the Department of Biology and Audrey Reynolds Distinguished Teaching Professor of Biology and Environmental Science Pamela Geddes, Ph.D., was selected to participate in the 2025 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Per a , the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program was established in 1998 as part of the . The program is committed to supporting a 21st century agricultural workforce through professional development, workforce development and exposure to opportunities for faculty, staff and students. To date, nearly 450 faculty and staff have collaborated with the USDA to strengthen relationships with Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). All E. Kika De La Garza fellows are faculty or staff at HSIs or Hispanic-Serving School Districts — higher education institutions and K-12 school districts with Hispanic student enrollment of 25 percent or more. Currently, there are more than 600 HSIs nationally serving more than 2 million students.

“To develop agricultural leaders in both the public and private sectors, HSIs must take positive steps to engage and create partnerships to build capacity,” said Lisa R. Ramírez, Ed.D., Director of USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement.

As part of the fellowship, Dr. Geddes traveled to Washington, D.C. for one week in July to connect with other educators and learn about opportunities for Northeastern to collaborate with the USDA. 

“I was privileged to be selected from 150 applicants to be part of the 30 educators, faculty, and professionals representing institutions and communities from across the country who participated in the E. Kika De la Garza Fellowship in Washington, DC.,” said Dr. Geddes, who is also currently Co-Director of NEIU’s Living Learning Communities. “The ultimate goal of the fellowship is to strengthen academic programs and research opportunities in areas related to agriculture and environmental resources.”

Dr. Geddes noted that, as part of the fellowship, the group learned about USDA's myriad partnership opportunities, including food production and sustainability, risk management, agricultural research, animal and plant inspection services, nutrition education, rural housing and utilities services, food safety, nutrition education, urban agriculture, the forest service, and natural resource conservation, among many others. 

“We were able to meet USDA leaders, researchers and administrators who provided not only a deeper level of understanding about all of their programs, but also invited us to bring this knowledge back to our students, institutions and communities,” Dr. Geddes said. “I look forward to sharing everything we learned with our community here at NEIU!”

Top photo (from left to right): Dr. Ramírez and Dr. Geddes 

The 2025 E. Kika De La Garza Fellows. Dr. Geddes is standing in the front row, third from the left.