Emily Gaddis
Administrative Coordinator
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(FOIA Officer)
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​Emily Gaddis creates outreach and engagement opportunities to get more conservation on the ground with attention to the core mission of conserving and protecting natural resources while expanding into urban and underserved areas. Born in the epicenter of the dustbowl, Oklahoma, she is a proud Okie who traces her lineage to dust storm refugees who migrated to California before settling in the fertile farmland of the Midwest. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Northern Illinois University where she specialized in large format encaustic landscape painting (beeswax and pigment) mixing in soil and native botanicals. She also holds a master’s degree in Curriculum Development from The New School. An avid supporter of the circular economy transition and regenerative agriculture, her many experiences as an educator and social innovation entrepreneur in diverse places within the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, led her to a rewarding career in conservation with the Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District. It is her firm belief that a holistic and considered approach to managing the land holds the key to prosperity, health and sustainability for all. Talk to her about diversification, innovation, entrepreneurship, local food infrastructure and the need for strategic collaboration. In her free time, she can be found with husband and two kids reversing the nature deficit by joining in citizen science efforts like The Great Backyard Bird Count, and clearing edible invasive species! Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolate) and burrata wood fired pizza after a spring day of removal under the oak savanna canopy in Eldon Hazlet State Park, anyone?
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