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Cassidy (she/her) hails from the village of Downs, Illinois, situated right in the middle of corn and bean country. Growing up in this endless agricultural horizon, she was always fascinated by our working landscapes. To feed her fascination, Cassidy apprenticed with PrairiErth Farm in Atlanta, Illinois, worked on an organic vineyard in Carlton, Oregon, and managed a community garden space in St. Louis, Missouri (not to mention the many summers spent detasseling as a kid).

Cassidy joined The Land Connection team in 2019 as Farmer Training Program Manager. In this role, she collaboratively develops and delivers agricultural training and support programs for sustainable producers of all scales and production enterprises throughout Illinois. She organizes the annual Organic Grain Conference in Champaign, IL and is working closely with local farmers to launch an organic grain apprenticeship program. Since joining The Land Connection, Cassidy has been working with partners at The Conservation Fund and Liberty Prairie Foundation to develop the Illinois Farmland Access Initiative, launching in fall 2021.

Before joining The Land Connection, Cassidy worked with the Sustaining Family Forests Initiative at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies where she worked to increase conservation and land management activities on private forest lands. Prior to her stint on the east coast, she spent several years abroad including serving a tour as an Education Volunteer with the US Peace Corps in central China. She has an MS in Environmental Psychology and Conservation Ecology from the University of Michigan and a BA in Studio Art from Webster University.