Source: US HOUSE AG COMMITTEE, 6/27/22

House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott is pleased to announce the summer interns for the Democratic staff of the House Agriculture Committee.

Taylor Mitchell recently graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science. This fall she will be heading to the University of Michigan for her Master’s in Sustainable Systems. Some of her focuses of study are fresh-water management, conservation, and minority agriculture rights. Her future plans include global research on wetland conservation and securing fresh water for impoverished communities. She is excited for the opportunity to work on Capitol Hill and hopes to gain experience on research and policymaking from the House Committee.

Kristen Tam is from San Francisco and is very interested in how our food systems can not only feed the world but help mitigate climate change through sequestering carbon. She has worked on an organic coffee farm in Holualoa, on the Big Island of Hawaii, and as a Research and Extension Experience for Undergraduates (REU) recipient of USDA funding to conduct research through the University of Nebraska, Lincoln on integrated pest management strategies on corn and soy farms. Kristen also conducted legal research and published a paper in the UCLA Undergraduate Law Journal on “Breaking Apart Monopolies to Stimulate the Regenerative Agriculture Movement.”  She hopes to work on promoting more opportunities to support farmers in employing conservation and regenerative farming practices. Kristen is going into her senior year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and will be graduating with a B.S. in Environmental Science and minor in Food Studies.

Max Valadez is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University and earned a B.S. in Agricultural Leadership & Development, as well as a Certificate in Public Management from the Bush School of Government and Public Service. This fall, he will begin a Master’s in Public Administration at the University of Georgia, where he will work as a Graduate Assistant in the School of Public and International Affairs. Max is excited to learn more about policy formation related to rural development and food assistance programs at the federal level, specifically in the context of standing committees within the US House of Representatives.