Derek Simmonds

A veteran food systems educator and economic development specialist, Derek has dedicated his professional career to driving business and community growth, including stints with the Cayuga Economic Development Agency and Cornell Cooperative Extension offices in Seneca and Onondaga counties. Simmonds also served the United States Agency for International Development, focusing his efforts on diversifying livelihoods and building local capacity in Ecuador, and volunteered for the Peace Corps in Malawi, where he worked as a natural resources extension specialist.

Simmonds holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management and a Master of Science degree from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He lives in Auburn with his wife and two children.