Julie C. Suarez serves as the associate dean for Land-Grant Affairs. Her responsibilities include strengthening the connections between New York’s Land-Grant college, policy makers and the community at large. In her role, she is committed to bringing science-based knowledge relating to food, agriculture, and life sciences into the public domain. She’s been engaged in several initiatives undertaken by the college, including the establishment of a Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture Innovation and the Institute of Food Safety at Cornell AgriTech, the New York Hemlock Woolly Adelgid project, the New York State Soil Health and Resiliency Program, the Cornell Small Farms FarmOps and Equitable Farm Futures program, and the visionary expansion of two flagship outreach programs, Cornell PRO-DAIRY and the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program.
As the inaugural director of translational research programs, Ms Suarez works with our state-funded research programs and centers to provide strategic support and guidance, evaluate and advance synergies among programs in areas of mutual interest, and increase opportunities for new sources of external funding to fulfill our Land-Grant mission and commitment to New York state.
Ms. Suarez serves on the Governor’s Anti-Hunger Food Policy Council and chairs the Economic Vitality and Institutional Procurement working group, as well as the Commissioner of New York State Agriculture and Markets Industrial Hemp Working Group, the Pollinator Protection Task Force, the Craft Beverage Task Force, and the Dairy Think Tank. She recently represented faculty and extension scholarship on the Agriculture and Forestry Subcommittee of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, helping to provide science based information to find a pathway forward to GHG emissions reductions as well as climate adaptation for New York’s farm community. She is also the agricultural representative on the Office of General Services Procurement Council. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, is the policy co-chair of the Northeast Carbon Alliance, and has previously served on the New York Cider Association Board, Cornell University’s Empire State Food and Agriculture LEAD-NY board and a stint as the chair of the Empire State Council of Agricultural Organizations.
Prior to her current position, Ms. Suarez served as the Director of Public Policy for New York Farm Bureau. In that position she managed policy and public relations for the state’s largest farmer member organization. She previously worked for the New York State Senate as Director of the Senate Agriculture Committee and as a New York State Senate Fellow. Her legislative career achievements include adoption of the Northeast Dairy Compact in New York State, enactment of Interstate Direct Shipment of Wine, and various tax and agricultural district protections for New York farmers. She holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany, and is a graduate of Cornell University’s LEAD-NY program. She lives in Schodack, New York, with her family and backyard chickens.
