Alumni Spotlight Dr. Glenda Humiston (25)

Alumni Spotlight

Dr. Glenda Humiston (25)

BY LIZA ROBERTSON

Dr. Glenda Humiston has served as vice president of agriculture and natural resources for the University of California (UC ANR) since 2015. Prior to UC ANR she had 25 years of experience working on public policy development and program implementation supporting sustainability.

“As a leader for California agriculture and a much-respected member of Class 25, Dr. Glenda Humiston has provided extraordinary service at both the national and state levels,” said Deidre Kelsey (25). “She has given decades to assist with governmental policies, the cultural aspects of agricultural communities and the economic realities of agriculture.”

Humiston was born in California and raised on a cattle ranch in Colorado, where she participated in her local 4-H program. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia, executive director of a nonprofit organization advocating farmland preservation and valueadded agriculture development, and consultant on environmental and agricultural issues throughout the West.

Humiston earned her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in environmental science, policy and management with research focused on U.S. Farm Bill policy. She has a master’s degree in international agricultural development from UC Davis and a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Colorado State University.

Humiston served President Bill Clinton as deputy undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1998 to 2001. She managed the Sustainable Development Institute at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in South Africa and the 2006 World Water Forum in Mexico City.

In 2009 Humiston was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the California state director for USDA Rural Development. In that capacity Humiston was able to work with rural communities throughout California to investigate and assist with issues such as potable water, farmworker housing and enhancing market opportunities for farmers.

Her work has also included producing the widely acclaimed guidebook “Access to Capital.” She has led efforts to bring rural issues to the forefront of the state’s Economic Summit and to the attention of policymakers throughout California. As a Class 25 fellow, Humiston traveled to India, Pakistan and Nepal. The international seminar was an opportunity to learn about how governments around the world operate. She notes a lesson that has stayed with her since she traveled there in 1996.

“That was an amazing trip,” said Humiston. “I think one of the things that really stands out was the contrast between India and Pakistan. Just the contrast between the world’s largest democracy and an authoritative and repressive country and how people dealt with that was very eye opening.”

Since graduating from Ag Leadership, Humiston has been instrumental in organizing the D.C. Exchange reception and recruiting fellows who travel to California to learn firsthand about the state’s agriculture industry.

“I think the D.C. Exchange Program is critically important and valuable,” said Humiston. “Folks who work in D.C. desperately need to get out in the field and be exposed to how complex and different issues are. Hopefully we’ll get better policy if they do.”

When reflecting on her time in the program, Humiston said a lesson that has stayed with her is the importance of networking.

“I interact and work with Ag Leadership alumni across the state and in different disciplines frequently,” said Humiston. “That networking is really important and valuable. I can’t know everything, none of us can, so being able to have the network that we can tap into when we need expertise is just wonderful.”

Humiston said her advice to leaders is threefold. “You have to really do your homework to know what you’re looking at, you’ve got to be very strategic if you want to accomplish something and you’ve got to be willing to stick your neck out and take the consequences,” she said.

“I THINK THE D.C. EXCHANGE PROGRAM IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE. FOLKS WHO WORK IN D.C. DESPERATELY NEED TO GET OUT IN THE FIELD AND ... HOPEFULLY WE’LL GET BETTER POLICY IF THEY DO.” - DR. GLENDA HUMISTON