The Wallace-Carver Fellows participate in a week-long leadership symposium in Washington DC, hosted by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
The Washington Leadership Symposium is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for college students to examine key domestic and global challenges, and explore the exciting opportunities available to impact agriculture, the environment, human health and science through public service.
The Wallace-Carver Fellows participate in a series of high-level briefings, tours, leadership development activities, and discussions in Washington DC with a diverse array of key government officials and American thought leaders, including in recent years:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Sonny Perdue, Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Dr. Gregory Parham, Former Assistant Secretary for Administration
Krysta Harden, Former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Kathleen Merrigan, Former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Ted McKinney, Former Under Secretary for Trade & Foreign Agricultural Affairs
Bill Northey, Former Under Secretary for Farm Production & Conservation
Ann Bartuska, Former Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics
Dr. Cathy Woteki, Former Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics
Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Acting Chief Scientist and Agricultural Research Service Administrator
Dr. Mary Bowman, Former Administrator of the Economic Research Service
Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy, Former Administrator of the USDA National Institute of Food & Agriculture
Phil Karsting, Former Administrator Foreign Agricultural Service
Dr. Dionne Toombs, Director of the Office of the Chief Scientist
Dr. Richard Derksen, Deputy Director of the Office of the Chief Scientist
Mark Jekanowski, Chair of the World Agricultural Outlook Board
Dr. Donald McLellan, Former Director of the ARS Office of Outreach, Diversity & Equal Opportunity,
Shannon Nally Yanessa, USDA National Organic Program Assistant Director
Torey Powell, Former Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement Youth Programs Manager
Josh Stull, National Institute of Food and Agriculture Congressional Affairs Officer
Dr. Carlos Ortiz, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Institute of Youth, Family, and Community Program Specialist
WHITE HOUSE
Doug Hoelscher, Deputy Asst. to the President & Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
Dr. Charles Santerre, Former Senior Policy Advisor for Agriculture & Rural Prosperity
Dr. Jeff Weld, Former Senior Policy Advisor and Assistant Director for STEM Education, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Doug O'Brien, Former Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs
Deb Eschmeyer, Former Senior Advisor for Nutrition Policy & Executive Director of the Let's Move Initiative
Lisa Nichols, Former Assistant Director for Academic Engagement, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Manisha Singh, Assistant Secretary of State
Charles Rivkin, Former Assistant Secretary of State
Patrick Dunn, Former Director, Office of Agriculture Policy
Eric Luftman, Former Director, Office of Agriculture Policy
Dr. Diane Szymanski, Deputy Director, Office of Agriculture Policy
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Mark Green, Former USAID Administrator
Dr. Rajiv Shah, Former Deputy Administrator
Bonnie Glick, Former USAID Deputy Administrator
Dr. Robert Bertram, USAID Bureau for Food Security Chief Scientist
Dr. John Bowman, USAID Bureau for Food Security Senior Agriculture Advisor
Dina Esposito, Former USAID Food for Peace Director
Christie Vilsack, Former USAID Senior Advisor for International Education
U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION
Dr. Stephen Ostroff, Former FDA Deputy Commissioner
Dr. Patrick Cournoyer, Consumer Safety Officer, Office of Food Additive Safety
NATIONAL OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
Stephen Zepecki, NOAA Educational Outreach Coordinator
BELTSVILLE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTER
Dr. Dariusz Swietlik, ARS Northeast Area Director
Dr. Charles Onwulata, ARS Northeast Area Associate Director
Dr. Jay Evans, USDA Bee Laboratory
Dr. Naomi Fukagawa, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center Director
Dr. Thomas Wang, ARS Diet, Genomics & Immunology Laboratory Research Leader
U.S. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY
Susan Fugate, Head of Special Collections
Chris Cole, Business Development Manager
U.S. NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS
Dr. Sahara Moon, Executive Director
Dr. Ari Novy, Former Executive Director
Devin Dotson, Communications Director
U.S. NATIONAL ARBORETUM
Dr. Richard Olsen, Director of the US National Arboretum
U.S. SENATE & HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Ambassador Tony Hall, Former U.S. Representative (Ohio) & Chair of the Congressional Hunger Caucus
Joni Ernst, U.S. Senator (Iowa)
Ed Cooney, Former Congressional Hunger Center Executive Director
UNITED NATIONS & INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Vimlendra Sharan, UN Food & Agriculture Organization Director
Gabriel Laizer, UN Food & Agriculture Organization Liaison Officer
Kelly Herman, UN Foundation Nothing But Nets Partnerships & Development Officer
Dr. Shengen Fan, International Food Policy Research Institute Director General
Marshall Matz, World Food Program USA Co-Founder
WORLD FOOD PRIZE LAUREATES
Rev. David Beckmann, 2010 World Food Prize Laureate & Bread for the World President
Catherine Bertini, 2002 World Food Prize Laureate & Former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme
Howarth Bouis, 2016 World Food Prize Laureate & Former HarvestPlus Director
Hans Herren, 1995 World Food Prize Laureate & Millennium Institute President
The Fellows participated in service learning activities at the University of the District of Columbia:
Matthew Gardine, Assistant Farm Manager
The Fellows explored Washington DC and toured the National Mall and Monuments:
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Washington Monument
World War II Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Vietnam War Memorial
Korean War Memorial
Einstein Memorial