The Native Agriculture Education Fellowship Program Announces New Executive Director

The Native Agriculture Education Fellowship Program (NAEFP) appoints Nicole DeVon as Executive Director to oversee the Tribal Agriculture Fellowship for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students studying agriculture and related fields. Nicole DeVon is a member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe and was born and raised in Washington State.

DeVon previously held the role of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Tribal Affairs Manager for the Family Support Division of Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. She has more than 20 years of experience in Native education, having worked with Native students from Headstart to College. Prior to working at DCFS DeVon was at Eastern Washington University, where she served as a coordinator for American Indian student programs and later as the inaugural Director of Native American Affairs and Tribal Liaison to the President of the Eastern Washington University. There she led the Lucy Covington Initiative, a partnership with Covington’s family and the Colville Confederated Tribes to honor the legacy of Lucy Covington, a tribal rights activist and rancher who worked tirelessly to preserve tribal sovereignty and self-determination while uplifting the next generation of Native leaders through mentorship.

“Nicole’s passion for working with Native students and experience building programs that help Native people thrive through education will make her an exceptional leader to advance opportunities in agriculture through the development of a robust network of Indigenous agriculture professionals,” says Native Agriculture Education Fellowship Program (NAEFP) Board President Karli Moore.

“As the Tribal Agriculture Fellowship develops, it is essential that it be embedded into our Indigenous communities. We are working to create sustainable networks and build pathways to pursue further education for diverse areas of study such as agribusiness, science, research, and land stewardship. We start by engaging with students to connect their educational endeavors to community, culture, and identity,” says Nicole DeVon.

The Tribal Agriculture Fellowship will soon announce the inaugural cohort of fellows for the Fall 2022 semester at http://www.TAFFellows.org.

The Native Agriculture Education Fellowship Program (NAEFP) awards fellowships to Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students pursuing technical, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in agriculture with the goal of strengthening the flow of Indigenous professionals into tribal agriculture. The Tribal Agriculture Fellowship is sponsored by leading Native agriculture industry groups including Native American Agriculture Fund, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, Farmer Mac, John Deere and Farm Credit.