In recognition of her work with NAFSN, Joyce Tian was nominated for the 2022 Community Work Study Program's Employee of the Year Award from the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement of Cornell University.

Joyce Tian - Featured Food Systems Student Leader 

It is rare to work with an undergraduate student who intuitively understands how to balance process (care for people) and product (care for project) like Joyce Tian does. 

Joyce's personal drive and follow-through have made her a reliable and valued assistant to several leaders at NAFSN. We especially appreciate her attention to detail, careful reporting of all contributing voices, attention to accessibility and accommodations, and adherence to deadlines. 

Since she came on board with NAFSN in 2020, Joyce has delivered professional-level project management for four Lyson Center initiatives, all with national significance. The following is a summary of those responsibilities:

CARAT: Joyce came in at the ground level of an initiative called "Community Agriculture Resilience Auditing Tool" (CARAT) in fall 2020. Her contribution to this effort continues to include providing support to CARAT'S chair, Debra Tropp, a retired USDA-AMS executive.

FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATORS - WEBINAR SERIES: Joyce trained and took on the role of technician mid-way through this series in 2021. Her responsibilities included leading the technical and promotional aspects of the series.

ON LEVEL GROUND: PROGRESSIVE MODELS IN FARMLAND TENURE - WEBINAR SERIES: Joyce accepted the role of co-producer for this 2022 series starting in Spring 2022. Her responsibilities included contributing to the design and goal setting for the series and understanding historic marginalization and ongoing racial and economic injustice of those constrained from farmland access. She provided technical management for the series and slideset creation.

ACRE: Joyce contributed to an ongoing curriculum development initiative called AgriCluster Retention and Expansion (ACRE), which included training herself in accessibility guidelines to help the project meet ADA standards. 

SOCIAL MEDIA: Joyce led NAFSN's social media campaigns on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram with measurable results. For example, she increased engagement with NAFSN's LinkedIn content by 339% over 30 days in Jan-Feb 2022. 

As she contemplates a future in public service law, we know that Joyce's work as a Cornell University student staff member with NAFSN marks just the beginning of what will be a strong and deeply-committed community-serving career path.