This document profiles the careers of 6 professionals working in sustainability fields. It provides their current job titles, 3 things they love about their work, 3 challenges they face, and their career paths. The professionals work in areas like sustainable agriculture, urban farming, soil science research, academia, and conservation finance. Their career paths show progression from related fields into sustainability roles. Challenges include limited resources, public perceptions, securing funding, and ensuring research adoption.

1. Jill Wheeler, Micheál Newman-Brooks, Douglas L. Karlen, Sangu Angadi,
Dr. LaKisha Odom, Lisa Ferguson
Field Notes Brief Career Profiles

2. Name: Jill Wheeler
Current career title: Head of Sustainable Productivity, North America
Three things you love about your job:
• The interconnectedness
• Always learning
• It’s an exciting space
Three challenges in your job:
» Too many opportunities
» Economic challenges
» The 2% situation
Your career path: Journalism  Communications  Marketing  Product
Management  Sustainability

3. Name: Micheál Newman-Brooks
Current career title: Project Manager of Urban Agriculture, City of Chicago
Three things you love about your job:
• The ability to create outdoor spaces that last beyond my career
• Guide entrepreneurs to successfully launched and viable businesses
• Advocate for justice in the areas of food access and availability
Three challenges in your job:
» Limited resources even for people in need
» Only person city wide who holds this position
» Establishing need long term
Your career path: Desire to address food insecurities and food justice  Hoping
to build a division around my work and continuing to educate on a collegiate level 
Retirement goal to start or continue a Sustainable Urban Agriculture department of a
College or University

4. Name: Dr. Douglas L. Karlen
Current career title: Research Soil Scientist, USDA-ARS
Three things you love about your job:
• Solving real-world problems
• Global interactions
• Directed independence and ability to periodically redirect
Three challenges in your job:
» Public perception of federal government employees
» Uncertain and delayed budgets
» Ever-increasing documentation
Your career path: B.S. – University of Wisconsin, Madison  M.S. – Michigan
State University  Ph.D. – Kansas State University  USDA-ARS Coastal Plains
Research Center, Florence, SC  USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Ag & the
Environ., Ames, IA

5. Name: Sangu Angadi
Current career title: Professor, New Mexico State University
Three things you love about your job:
• Research on soil and water: the most important for food security
• Freedom to think out of box
• Train young researchers in this important field
Three challenges in your job:
» Finding qualified technical and student workforce
» Competition for resources
» Research findings and adoptability
Your career path: B.S. and M.S. from UAS, Bangalore, India  Rural
Development Officer – State Bank of Saurashtra  Asst. Professor - UAS,
Bangalore  Ph.D. from University of Manitoba, Canada (Commonwealth
Scholar)  Asst., Assoc. and Professor – NMSU, Clovis

6. Name: Dr. LaKisha Odom
Current career title: Scientific Program Director, FFAR
Three things you love about your job:
• Creativity
• Flexibility
• Challenging
Three challenges in your job:
» No blueprint
» No right-way
» Fast paced
Your career path: U.S. EPA-ORD  OSWER  Tuskegee University -Ph.D.-
Create-IGERT Fellow- Teagasc, Ireland  Post Doc- Early Career Intern for the
Public Policy Board of APS  AAS Fellow- USDA BRS  FFAR

7. Name: Lisa Ferguson
Current career title: Conservation Investment Associate, NatureVest
Three things you love about your job:
• Opportunity to learn a variety of global conservation strategies
• Entrepreneurial aspect of building conservation strategies into
investments
• Opportunity to make an impact on critical conservation challenges
Three challenges in your job:
» Aligning investments with investor interests
» Balancing environmental and social impact with investor returns
» Creating models that can replicate and scale globally
Your career path: Worked in documentary production and journalism around social
and environmental issues  Sparked interest in using businesses and markets to create
social and environmental impact  Transitioned to a finance and strategy career, with a
focus on environmental conservation

8. Q&A with Sli.do
Login to www.sli.do
Enter code SWCS18
Submit your questions for our speakers!