Share Your Feedback: Presentations by Co-Director Candidates

Thanks to all who attended! If you'd like to receive the links to the three presentations, email [email protected]. 
Use this feedback form to provide your input by EOD on Friday, April 10.

The Forever Green Initiative is in the process of recruiting a new Co-Director in preparation for Nick Jordan’s retirement in September of this year. This is a part-time role that will bring an existing University of Minnesota faculty member onto the Forever Green Initiative leadership team. 

We are excited to announce the final three candidates for Co-Director: George Annor, Jessica Gutknecht, and Kevin Smith. Congratulations to our candidates! 

Finalists will give public “chalk talks” on their vision for the future of Forever Green. We encourage all interested parties to attend any and all talks, either in person in 306 Borlaug Hall or on Zoom (see below for more details).

Chalk Talk Format
The chalk talks are an opportunity for the finalists to lay out their vision for Forever Green and engage with Forever Green partners and stakeholders. The candidates will present for 15-20 minutes, then have a discussion with the audience for the remaining time. The goal is to be as interactive as possible. Please come with questions for the candidates, whether you are joining in person or on Zoom.

Recordings
The chalk talks will be recorded for anyone who cannot attend in real time. If you would like to view one and provide feedback, please email Claire Price ([email protected]). Recordings will be available by April 3rd. 

Feedback
We welcome feedback on the candidates' presentations, whether you can attend one or all talks. Your feedback will be extremely valuable as FGI makes this important decision! To be considered, feedback must be received by EOD on Friday, April 10.

Attendance Instructions

• In-person attendees external to UMN can park in the parking lot 106 outside of Borlaug Hall (located at 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul). A Forever Green staff person will be at the Borlaug front doors to let you in and direct you to the meeting room. Please bring your parking ticket and we will validate it. 
• Remote attendees can join via Zoom using this link (same link for all three)
  • Meeting ID: 981 3338 6999
  • Passcode: EUXi65

Thank you in advance for helping us select the next Co-Director of Forever Green! 

Further Details of the Co-Director Search Process
The Forever Green Initiative launched the search for a Co-Director earlier this year, in preparation for current Co-Director Nick Jordan's impending retirement. The position was open to all tenure-track or tenured UMN faculty. FGI convened a search committee of the current FGI leadership, FGI R&D Executive Committee members, and key external partners (see below for the committee members). The search committee reviewed applications and invited an initial set of applicants to interview with the committee. Based on those interviews, three finalists were selected to give these public chalk talks. 

Co-Director Search Committee Members

• Maggi Adamek, Terra Soma Consulting
• Whitney Clark, Friends of the Mississippi River
• Anne Schwagerl, Prairie Point Farm and Minnesota Farmers Union
• Eric Watkins, UMN Vice Provost for Distributed Learning and Professor of Horticultural Science
• Josh Gamble, USDA ARS, FGI Executive Committee
• Jake Jungers, UMN, FGI Executive Committee
• Colin Cureton, FGI Director of Commercialization, Adoption, and Scaling
• Ann Kirby, FGI Director of Partnerships and Outreach
• Nick Jordan, FGI Co-Director
• Mitch Hunter, FGI Co-Director