NEWS RELEASE                                            Contact:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        Nicole DeVon M.Ed, Executive Director 

June 8, 2022                                      nicoled@taffellows.org

2022 Cohort of Tribal Agriculture Fellows Awarded  

The Tribal Agriculture Fellowship (TAF) Program selects the inaugural class of fellows. Ten students were awarded fellowships to advance their education and careers in an agriculture-related field. TAF is a fellowship program dedicated solely to supporting the educational and professional development of Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students pursuing technical, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in agriculture.  

“Our first cohort of TAFellows is an exceptional group of students with inspirational goals in the field of agriculture. At TAF we want to support the next generation of indigenous agricultural leaders no matter what area of agriculture they are interested in pursuing. This cohort is comprised of educators, scientists, lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and cultural knowledge keepers all with the ultimate goal of fostering sustainability within tribal and indigenous communities,” says Nicole DeVon, Executive Director of TAF.  

The 2022 Fall Cohort of TAFellows includes: 

• Marquel Begay (Dine’ [Navajo]), Graduate Student, Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands, University of Arizona 
• Nicole Benally (Navajo), Graduate Student, Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana 
• Maddylon Burris (Chickasaw), CTE, Agriculture Education, Redlands Community College 
• Carson Capps (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Undergraduate, Agribusiness, Oklahoma State University 
• Jaelyn Dove (Lumbee), Undergraduate, Animal Science, North Carolina State University 
• Henry Hainzinger (Osage), CTE, Truck Technician/Diesel Mechanic, Oklahoma State University-Institute of Technology 
• Gina McGuire (ʻŌiwi [Native Hawaiian]), Graduate, Geography and Environment: Indigenous Geographies of Wellness, University of Hawai’i  
• Santana Nez (Navajo), Graduate, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona 
• Justina Slim (Navajo), Undergraduate, Animal Science and Agriculture Business, Colorado State University 
• Brendan Walker (Navajo), Graduate, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona 

### 

The Native Agriculture Education Fellowship Program (NAEFP) awards fellowships to Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawai'ian 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 & Agriculture Research, Farmer Mac, John Deere, and Farm Credit.