Paladin Agricultural Consulting Services provides strategic management, ideation, and implementation support to organizations in all sectors of agriculture. The firm has expertise in capacity building, marketing and communications, facilitation, project management, and community development. Based in the Austin, Texas area, Paladin Agricultural Consulting Services supports groups across the globe.

My responsibilities include…

My responsibilities include…

- Manage administration transition process to include briefing reports and background information for the members of the agriculture transition team and its eight subcommittees. - Guide outreach and education efforts to the production agriculture community for the new Department policies, including Pennsylvania's food safety law (Act 106 of 2010) and its impact on farmers market vendors. - Ensure messaging for the Department is consistent through guidance to the press office and oversight of annual reports to the General Assembly. - Serve as point of contact for producers and allied industry groups through the administration's transition.

• Manage Secretarial transition process (2009 for Secretary Redding), including outreach to staff and external stakeholders, scheduling and logistics for confirmation meetings with members of the Pennsylvania Senate and final confirmation hearing, and related Departmental details focusing on the change in leadership and associated revisions to agency materials.• Oversee daily communications related to the Department, including press releases, annual reports to the legislature, agency testimony, media columns and correspondence on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture. This is done in coordination with a three person press office, three deputy secretaries and 14 bureau directors. • Provide strategic assistance to the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure the objectives of his administration are met. This includes daily briefing reports on a wide variety of subjects, preparation of speeches, logistics and scheduling management, community outreach.• Anticipate the questions and needs of the Secretary as related to the above item, ensuring the team can focus on strategies to achieve the administration’s objectives. • Work with counterparts at the local, state and federal levels to plan, coordinate and facilitate meetings focusing on agricultural and related issues.• Represent the Secretary of Agriculture as needed across the state, carrying the message of the Department and working to meet the needs of the diverse constituencies served by the agency. • Speak at or participate in local agricultural and community events on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture when required. • Serve as main point person for the Secretary of Agriculture with internal and external contacts.

• Provide assistance to the Executive Deputy Secretary with day-to-day management of Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, including daily correspondence and pre-event briefings.• Serve as project manager for various special initiatives as assigned by Secretary or Executive Deputy Secretary, including the creation of a formal communications plan for the Department and management of special projects and initiatives such as the Commonwealth’s Strategy for Agriculture and Food Excellence.• Oversee the Department’s Agricultural Education initiative, serving as the conduit between the Department and the Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE), the Pennsylvania FFA Association, the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Career and Technical Education and post-secondary institutions. Creating and hosting live events such as Farm City Day and the Pennsylvania Farm Show Detectives program and representing the Department at Agricultural Education events across the state.• Manage all messaging for the Department including the writing and editing of mandated annual reports to the General Assembly, daily press releases, industry sector-specific direct mails and outreach, live event management with partner organizations and internal agency-wide outreach. Included in this is the management of correspondence for the Secretary and Executive Deputy Secretary.

• Coordinate six agricultural education programs including instructor certification, course curriculum, partnerships, articulation agreements and extracurricular learning for students, and professional development for instructors• Liaise between W.B. Saul, the School District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and related industry groups.• Craft strategy and objectives, and oversee implementation of tactics to meet short- and long-term objectives. This includes cold calling industry partners, utilizing staff and advisory board member contacts to find new options for instructors and students and working with the Department of Education to drive the recognition of new industry certifications. • Create and drive marketing and promotion of urban agricultural education and career opportunities through creation of projects and events highlighting W.B. Saul’s agricultural programs and creating relationships with nationwide institutions of higher learning and related industry partners. • Chair W.B. Saul Occupational Advisory Board, managing membership, seeking out new areas of expansion for the agricultural programs, planning and hosting quarterly meetings for the group, communicating with members and implementing Board feedback while meeting Department of Education standards.• Actively manage yearly Perkins Grant budget to receive industry relevant equipment for agricultural programs. This includes constant education on changes in the Carl D. Perkins Act, feedback from instructors and partners on needed equipment, materials and supplies, and oversight of installation and use of equipment by staff and students.

• Design and execute livestock publishing group marketing efforts covering five unique properties with varying forms of distribution (stand alone magazines, demographic inserts and Web-based information).• Organize and manage livestock group live events, from trade show appearances to Farm Journal Media –run live events. Examples include acting as event manager for the Elite Producer Business Conference, overseeing such details as the proper placement of all sponsor logos, signage for events, hotel, attendee management and proceedings development.• Shepherd all special projects through various corporate channels from brainstorming to publication for livestock group. This includes working with staff to create the initial opportunity, investigating the marketing potential for the project, creating and distributing appropriate marketing pieces to staff and clients, managing internal procedures to ensure the finished product meets staff and client expectations and conducting post-event meetings to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that should be considered in the future.

• Map out and implement marketing plans for the Association and specific Association products.• Control advertising, trade show and promotional messaging, distribution and budgets. • Direct all Holstein Association USA live appearances, including booth design, show goals and objectives, and staffing. • Create and lead internal staff training for Holstein Association to bring product specialists together with customer service personnel to ensure that all Holstein representatives were delivering the same information to producers. • Develop innovative ways to reach dairy producers, including a key project that packaged Holstein Association software with an issue of DAIRY TODAY, the first time any agriculture publisher attempted such a promotion.

• Create promotional material of newly launched AgWeb.com while providing training and insight to sales staff and other parent company media groups (1999-2000).• Serve as product manager for AgWeb.com advertising and promotions.• Create and distribute promotional material for BEEF TODAY, DAIRY TODAY and HOGS TODAY magazines (1997-1999).• Coordinate all events and special projects related to the above-mentioned publications.• Serve as list manager for Farmail (1996-1997), Farm Journal Media's list rental data service.