Josette Lewis Joins EDF to Lead Sustainable Agriculture Program

(SACRAMENTO, Calif. – May 24, 2017) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced today the hiring of Josette Lewis, Ph.D., as Associate Vice President, Ecosystems – Sustainable Agriculture. In this role, Lewis will scale EDF’s work to reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture.

“We face a daunting challenge to feed two billion more people in the coming decades without harming the natural resources on which we all depend,” said David Festa, EDF Senior Vice President, Ecosystems. “Josette’s diverse background in the food, agricultural, and bioscience arenas makes her well positioned to bring proven and innovative farm conservation practices to scale.”

EDF’s sustainable agriculture program aims to end fertilizer pollution from commodity crop production to create a more resilient, sustainable food system that benefits human and ecosystem health. To achieve this goal, EDF has been working across the agricultural supply chain – with major retailers like Walmart, large food companies, agribusinesses, grower associations, policymakers, and farmers themselves – to deploy solutions that benefit the environment, businesses and farmers’ bottom lines.

For the past four years, Josette has led the World Food Center at the University of California, Davis, where she developed partnerships across the agricultural and technology sectors and positioned the university as a thought leader on food and agriculture. Previously, she served as the Director of Agriculture Development for Arcadia Biosciences, and held various leadership roles on agriculture and food security within the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Josette holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has provided counsel to a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture’s advisory committee, the James Beard Foundation, the International Life Sciences Foundation, and the Foundation for Ag Research.

“Interest and investment in sustainable agriculture is at an all-time high, but there is so much at stake given farmers’ decreasing incomes, an impending Farm Bill, and widespread food insecurity,” said Lewis. “I’m inspired by the collaborative and scientific approach to EDF’s agriculture initiatives, and am excited to join this dedicated and talented team to help accelerate our impact.”

A wide range of agricultural and farming leaders hailed Josette’s new role:

“Josette brings decades of state, national and international experience and collaborative relationships to produce results. She is a respected advisor on food and agricultural issues in California and across the U.S.,” said Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “Her ability to apply a scientific lens to farming practices will be hugely valuable as EDF works to calculate the impact and potential of agricultural conservation methods.”

“EDF’s sustainable agriculture program has a reputation for being collaborative, pragmatic, and effective,” noted Len Corzine, a fifth generation Illinois corn grower and former president of the National Corn Growers Association. “Josette’s knowledge and experience in the agriculture and food sector make her the ideal person for leading this program to the next level.”

“Josette’s agricultural, scientific and public policy experiences will be a great asset to EDF. I witnessed this first-hand while working together on the USDA Biotechnology Advisory Committee for 21st Century Agriculture (AC21),” said Russell Reading, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Agriculture. “Her focus on long-term solutions for agriculture was valued and completely transferable to her new role to make sustainable agriculture the norm across the United States.”