About Us | Meet the Team | Kristina Owens

Kristina has been connected to agriculture all her life. She grew up in the small town of Wheatland outside of Rochester, NY. Her first job was picking strawberries for local berry farmers.

After graduating with a BA in Spanish and a Chemistry Minor she enrolled in the Loret Miller Ruppe Peace Corps Master’s International program in Forestry at Michigan Technology University. As part of her degree program she served two years in the Peace Corps.

While in Bolivia as a Peace Corps Volunteer, she worked with fruit tree farmers in southern Bolivia, encouraging best management practices and also identifying ways to improve the production of an economically valuable fruit tree crop, the Cherimoya. Her final thesis was on the genetic diversity of this fruit tree for the purpose of improving the level of diversity.

Upon her completion of her Graduate work, she spent the next ten years working as a Plant Pathologist/Biologist at USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service in Beltsville, Maryland. She worked with various High-Consequence plant pathogens and pests including: Pale Cyst Nematode, Citrus Greening, Plum Pox Virus, Phytophthora austrocedri , Potyviruses, and Nepoviruses.

In 2015, She returned to graduate school and completed a Master of Science in Science, Technology, and Public Policy in December 2016. While enrolled she interned for Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Congressman Joe Kennedy, III.

Her Final Thesis “Technological, Policy, and Organizational Issues in the Response to Biological Emergency Incidents in the US Food Supply” addressed one part of the complex US Food Safety System.

She is also active in the Peace Corps alumni community. She was the 50^th Anniversary Event manager for the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC, A Board Director and Chair of the Public Policy & Advocacy Committee for the National Peace Corps Association. She continues to advise as Board Emeritus.

We are thrilled to have her as part of our team!

	Home About Us Meet the Team Kellye Eversole Lori Leach Isabelle Caugant Dusti Gallagher Elizabeth Hood Ann Lichens-Park Robert A. Mustell Angela Records Services Major Projects Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium Phytobiomes Alliance Specialty Crop Regulatory Assistance Service Activities American Association for the Advancement of Science - GIST Tech-I American Association for the Advancement of Science - Science and Technology Fellows IE-SCS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Specialty Crop Regulatory Assistance Women in Genomics Publications Journal Articles Book Chapters Proceedings, Conference Papers, & Other Articles Contact Us About Us \| Meet the Team \| Kristina Owens Kristina has been connected to agriculture all her life. She grew up in the small town of Wheatland outside of Rochester, NY. Her first job was picking strawberries for local berry farmers. After graduating with a BA in Spanish and a Chemistry Minor she enrolled in the Loret Miller Ruppe Peace Corps Master’s International program in Forestry at Michigan Technology University. As part of her degree program she served two years in the Peace Corps. While in Bolivia as a Peace Corps Volunteer, she worked with fruit tree farmers in southern Bolivia, encouraging best management practices and also identifying ways to improve the production of an economically valuable fruit tree crop, the Cherimoya. Her final thesis was on the genetic diversity of this fruit tree for the purpose of improving the level of diversity. Upon her completion of her Graduate work, she spent the next ten years working as a Plant Pathologist/Biologist at USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service in Beltsville, Maryland. She worked with various High-Consequence plant pathogens and pests including: Pale Cyst Nematode, Citrus Greening, Plum Pox Virus, Phytophthora austrocedri , Potyviruses, and Nepoviruses. In 2015, She returned to graduate school and completed a Master of Science in Science, Technology, and Public Policy in December 2016. While enrolled she interned for Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Congressman Joe Kennedy, III. Her Final Thesis “Technological, Policy, and Organizational Issues in the Response to Biological Emergency Incidents in the US Food Supply” addressed one part of the complex US Food Safety System. She is also active in the Peace Corps alumni community. She was the 50^th Anniversary Event manager for the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC, A Board Director and Chair of the Public Policy & Advocacy Committee for the National Peace Corps Association. She continues to advise as Board Emeritus. We are thrilled to have her as part of our team!