Advisory board gathers for inaugural meeting

By Laura Bernheim & Arthur Leal After a year of planning, the PIE Center’s 15-member advisory board met for the first time this fall and is already making an impact. The advisory board, whose members represent private businesses, government agencies, public organizations and academic sectors of agriculture and natural resources, gathered in Gainesville in mid-October for the inaugural meeting. PIE Center faculty and staff introduced themselves and the center’s various research, communications and outreach programs. The board discussed at length the PIE Center’s mission and vision statements as well as strategic goals, something PIE Center Director Tracy Irani said the center has long needed to refine. Click here for more photos “Our mission, vision and strategic goals keep us connected to our stakeholders and collaborators and that connection is very important to us,” she said. “We have been operating under a strategic plan that was developed in 2011, and our goals need to be updated to reflect the work we are currently doing and the team we’ve built. Our board members were spot-on in their recommendations.” Following the board meeting, PIE Center faculty and staff held a visioning and planning session to describe the center’s direction. “That wouldn’t have happened without the advisory board,” said Alexa Lamm, PIE Center associate director. “The vital role of the advisory board is to bring an outside perspective on what we do. We’re in it every day, so sometimes it’s hard to take that outside view on where we’re headed.” The advisory board members suggested Lamm, also an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, merge the National Public Policy Evaluation Center with the PIE Center to strengthen the parent organization’s brand. Lamm was the center’s director. “We have room to lead the conversation on agricultural and natural resource public policy, so it is only natural the two centers join forces to become an even stronger entity that can serve the industry with a united front,” Lamm said. Jack Payne, Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, joined the PIE Center in welcoming the board members. “I am thrilled to see the PIE Center establish an advisory board,” he said. “It’s a huge step in extending the center’s reach across the state as it seeks to use research, outreach and communication to enhance the role of science in policy decisions and and to better inform the public about science-based information. “Every state has a land-grant university, but nobody else has a PIE Center.” Also at the meeting, the board elected officers and formed an executive committee led by board chairperson Jeanna Mastrodicasa, assistant vice president of student affairs at UF. Chairperson-elect Bo Beaulieu, assistant vice president for engagement at Purdue University, joined United Fresh Produce Association Vice President Ray Gilmer, Gulf Citrus Growers Association Executive Vice President Ron Hamel and UF/IFAS Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology Interim Director Michael Dukes on the executive committee. The board’s executive committee members held a conference call in mid-December. The executive committee reviewed and made recommendations to finalize the board’s bylaws and discussed the PIE Center’s strategic goals. The executive committee recommended a full-board, in-person strategic planning meeting to be held in spring 2014.