The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) welcomed 32 faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSDs) to the 2024 class of E. Kika De La Garza (EKDLG) Fellows on July 8, 2024. This initiative aims to educate participants on USDA services and programs, benefiting their students and communities as part of USDA’s commitment to advancing equity in professional development opportunities.

“This year’s class of fellows is the largest so far and a testament of the program’s success,” said Dr. Lisa R. Ramírez, director of USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement.

E. Kika De La Garza Education, High School, and Science Fellows will spend one week meeting with leaders from various USDA agencies in Washington, D.C., learning about national and regional issues, policy making, and research. Following this session, Science Fellows will collaborate for an additional week with top scientists from USDA's Agricultural Research Service, Food Safety and Inspection Service, or the U.S. Forest Service.

Since its inception in 1998, the EKDLG Fellows Program has hosted over 400 faculty and staff to strengthen relationships with HSIs. These institutions have a Hispanic student enrollment of 25 percent or more. Currently, there are more than 600 HSIs nationally serving over two million students.

The 2024 E. Kika De La Garza Education Fellows include:

Venkatesh Balan - University of Houston

Cynthia Bejarano - New Mexico State University

Amanda Bogden - University of Arizona

Hikmet Budak - Arizona Western College

David A. Byrd - Coastal Bend College

Reilly Caldwell - Adams State College

Denise Crosswhite - California State University

Lauren M. Dinour - Montclair State University

Maria Consuelo Donato Molina - Texas A&M University

J. Michael Gaspar - Mesa Community College

Belen Gonzales - Hartnell College

J.E. Jason Headrick - Texas Tech University

Joe Hinton - City Colleges of Chicago

Rafael Landaverde - Texas A&M University

Alyssa M. McKenney - Maricopa Community Colleges

Liliana Oliveira - University of Connecticut

Franklin Ortega-Palaguachi - Waubonsee Community College

Kitchka P. Petrova - Northern Arizona University

Mayra Puente - University of California

Jennifer C Schriber – Cuesta College

The High School Fellows are:

Curtis Guaglianone – Mt. Adams School District #209

Robert Markuske – The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School

Patrycja Zbrzezny – John Bowne High School

The Science Fellows are:

Mark Eppinger – University of Texas

Ivan L. Guzman – CUNY New York City College of Technology

Akira Kawamura – CUNY Hunter College

Amir Ali Khoddamzadeh – Florida International University

Cynthia Klobodu – California State University

Santanu Maitra – California State University

Subhankar Mandal – Arizona State University

Rosalyn A Shim – Texas Tech University

Veerachandra K Yemmireddy –University Of Texas

The EKDLG Fellows Program is part of USDA’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program which supports professional development through partnerships with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). Since 1994, more than 3,000 interns have been placed through this collaboration.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA focuses on transforming America’s food system by enhancing local food production resilience, ensuring fair markets for producers, promoting access to nutritious food in all communities, building new income streams for farmers using climate-smart practices, investing in rural infrastructure and clean energy capabilities while committing to equity across its departments.

For more information about USDA initiatives visit www.usda.gov.

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