Q&A with Erin

Tell me about a time when things changed radically for you at work. How did you navigate that change?

When I first moved to U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action with a new CEO, I was used to having systems in place, procedures, and a larger team. We also had major fundraising and cash flow issues. It was an all-hands-on-deck approach to radically shift the organization from the ground up. It required designing a new governance, brand, and strategy platform. Technically, I had to do a little bit of everything with a small startup NGO. I had to implement new systems for accounting, HR, customer relationship management, social media, and marketing. Normally in a big team, you can rely on different departments. In this role, I had to operate at the strategy level and also very much in the detail of the day-to-day operations. It was tough; often, the night was reserved for operations. I was constantly reading and learning about ways to improve efficiency so that I could focus on the bigger tasks at hand.

 

Describe a time when you were handed one assignment but ended up completing something different. What happened?

I was originally responsible for developing a strategy to increase overall dairy industry growth. At the time, we were looking for ways to have convenience and demographic product differentiation. I kept looking at the psychographics of the consumer, reputation, and classic strategy, and started to spend nights researching what is now called sustainability. I sent my paper to the CEO, and then we started to work directly with consultants, Walmart, and convinced the board to take on sustainability as the strategy for the industry.

Tell me about a unique situation that pushed you to work both harder and differently than you had before in order to achieve success.

During COVID, we met the moment and put our whole organization's mission and work plan on hold just to support the industry. We created a dark site for company leaders to have facts, talking points, and connect products in the supply chain. The industry was in crisis and needed support. It turned out we were the only group that could pull leaders from farm to brand, retail, and restaurant. There were food supply issues, and we needed a place to convene leaders and connect information rapidly. So we just stopped our normal day-to-day work and supported the leaders. We knew our mission was all about inspiring leaders in action and we needed to support them in the tough times as well. COVID, in many ways, was a fire drill to the expected food systems shocks of the future, so our lessons learned would allow the leaders to meet the moment. This actually gave us the permission to lead and ultimately finalize our facilitation of these groups. We then continued to craft the vision for the Decade of Ag. Leaders now fully realized the potential and need to collaborate along the value chain. Just four months later, the vision was finalized and leaders started to sign on to the vision.

How do you go about explaining a complex technical problem to a person who does not understand technical jargon? What approach do you take in communicating with people?

Everyone who eats believes they are an expert, and with the flood of information, people find this topic interesting and also very personal. Topics are always grounded in belief. Therefore, you have to really understand what they care about first, and second, think about what they might want to know. Often misunderstandings come from a lack of knowledge, and everyone is interested in learning. The topics of food, agriculture, and climate change are some of the most complicated. I approach conversations by explaining how I learned and try to simplify complex science or financial terms through basic storytelling. A few ways I do this are by always talking about a real person with a real problem and the challenges they face on their journey to be better. In 2019, USFRA produced the short film “30 Harvests” which highlighted the urgent need to fight against climate change and the role farmers could play as agents for change. “The next 30 years will be the most important in the history of agriculture,” This film captivated audiences as it showed the real humanity and struggles of one farmer. It ultimately went on to win the Cannes award and was shown at the Climate Change talks.

It is important to invite a person to help think about the challenges, so they are on the problem-solving journey in the conversation now. Then talk about the potential of the solutions. Effective storytelling is at the heart of creating movements and beliefs in new ideas.

Another technique is to think of one infographic or headline that captures the sentiment. People are very visual learners, and if you can show them something that is complex in simple terms, quite often they will ask for slides or the information, and now they are able to, in turn, tell the story to others

What is the biggest risk you've taken at work? Why did you take it? How did it turn out?

I would say during COVID,  we met the moment, and put our whole organization mission and work plan on hold just to support the industry.  We created dark site for company leaders to have facts, talking points, connect products in the supply chain.  The industry was in crisis and needed support, it turned out we were the only group that could pull leaders from farm to brand, retail and restaurant. There were food supply issues, and we needed a place to convene leaders and connect information rapidly.  So we just stopped our normal day to day work and supported the leaders. We knew our mission was all about inspiring leaders in action and we needed to support them in the tough times as well. Covid in many ways was a fire drill to the expected food systems shocks of the future, so our lessons learned, would allow the leaders to meet the moment.  This actually then gave us the permission to lead and ultimately finalizing our facilitation of these groups we then continued to craft the vision for the Decade of Ag. Leaders now fully realizing the potential and need to collaborate along the value chain, just 4 months later the vision was finalized and leaders started to sign on to the vision.

How do you coach a subordinate to develop a new skill?

Work to establish personal career goals, business, and technical acumen goals. Learning something new isn’t always easy, and people don’t like change. So it has to be part of their broader career goals. We have all had projects where we had to learn something, and sometimes we didn’t like it, but we learned something that we can pay forward. The key is asking the person if they are ready and willing for the challenge. Explain why it is important, and if this is successful, how it can help the company and their career.

In 2018, when I took over, the organization was not seen in a favorable light. Food and agriculture were viewed as problem sectors for the environment. We realized this was deficit thinking and recognized that agriculture could be part of the solution. We worked to get the best science to show that agriculture actually had a pipeline of innovation, and if invested in and deployed, it could be a net negative carbon solution. At the time, that was unheard of, but now you see it in a lot of communications and strategies.

We then had to mobilize multi-stakeholders to work alongside each other to craft a future vision for agriculture. I always believe if you can’t tell people where you are going, then they will tell you how you will get there. This shift in talking about the future and where we want to go is a departure from the typical environmental speak that everything is a problem and broken. The future is here now if we want to create it. The key was to get leaders to actually believe it. By calling each individual leader and asking them to get in a room together, I fundamentally believed the conversation would change.

We went from a USFRA membership and governance that expanded to include food and agriculture sector partners (brands, NGOs, retailers, etc.), and projects and programming were constructed to bring the voice and perspective of U.S. farmers and ranchers to industry decisions about sustainability, especially those related to climate change. In September 2019, USFRA hosted the first “Honor the Harvest” forum that brought farmers and ranchers together with food industry leaders to co-create a shared vision for a sustainable future. The program included the launch of the “Decade of Ag” – a sector-wide call-to-action to fight climate change with nature-based solutions over the next 10 years. Decade of Ag endorsers committed to (1) work together as a collective, (2) recognize and lift up existing sustainable and climate-smart practices taking place across the value chains, and (3) continue working together to reach a sustainable future with agriculture at the forefront of solutions.

Decade of Ag Vision: A resilient, restorative, economically viable, and climate-smart agricultural system that produces abundant and nutritious food, natural fiber, and clean energy for a sustainable, vibrant, and prosperous America.

In 2020, USFRA changed its name to U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action to emphasize its belief that the actions of farmers and ranchers were crucial in building sustainable food systems of the future. We called upon leaders to endorse the Decade of Ag. Ultimately, the momentum was recognized at the UN, and while the UN was drafting their vision for the Food Systems Summit in 2021, we participated in 26 of their convenings, providing advice on how we could transform for the future. Ultimately, farmers were included in the new UN governance, and we had our farmer presenting in the opening of the UN General Assembly with eight invited farmers in the audience. We were turning the conversation from a sense of problems to a sense of possibilities.

I am often presenting or speaking with people who hold strong beliefs. For example, if I am addressing a farmer group, they might not believe in climate change. On the other hand, if I am speaking to a company, they might think the farmer doesn’t know or won't do what is right for the environment. It's crucial to understand where the other person is coming from to effectively communicate. Recognizing and respecting their perspective allows me to address their concerns and present the necessary information in a way that is more likely to be accepted.

How would you define success for someone in your chosen career?

I think success in this field comes from integrating innovative concepts into day-to-day operations and seeing new projects implemented as a result. Often, innovation and solutions are stagnated due to a lack of knowledge, meeting other people who can contribute to the goals, or an embedded belief system. I believe a multistakeholder approach is crucial—don’t always ask what, but ask who can make this happen. Success involves inspiring and igniting people to set a vision with big goals and working collaboratively to achieve them. This approach not only drives progress but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and shared responsibility.

Tell me about a time when your ability to persuade ended in a successful sale.

I think probably fondest in last lears was working with the UN and a group of farmer collations around the world. We were able to get farmers included in the governance by simply pointing out that over 50% of the land mass is walked upon and by the 2 billion farmers around the world who harvest the food served by their hands to our dinner plates. The current proposed UN governance for food systems has business, government, youth, civil society, tribal, women groups, and yet no one who stewards the lands from where the food comes from? It was powerful.  We encouraged farmers with their boots to walk to the kitchens and called upon the UN to include farmers into dialogue and governance moving forward.

When establishing a vision for/with your team, how do you go about it?

I start by establishing a sense of the facts through thorough research and assessment, creating a briefing paper that includes key questions that need to be considered. It's essential to ensure the entirety of the system is in the room. If it’s the industry, I make sure all parts of the value chain are represented. If it’s a product line, all parts of the representative system from suppliers to customers must be present.

I then use Appreciative Inquiry, a strengths-based approach to organizational and social change that uses questions and dialogue to help people identify existing strengths and opportunities. This approach focuses on what a group, organization, or community does well, rather than its problems.

We facilitate and craft the vision with everyone in the room over two to three days. Following this, we conduct a series of clarifying visioning calls to refine the vision and then lock down the ambition with clear, actionable goals.

What have you done to support diversity in your company?

I frequently work with individuals from various backgrounds, personalities, and cultures. Coming from a large family and having lived abroad, I appreciate the value of diverse perspectives. I believe that having people from different backgrounds in the room enriches discussions and outcomes. It’s not enough to simply invite people to the table; we must also ensure they feel included and empowered to contribute.

Collective success relies on a robust exchange of ideas toward our shared future, an exchange fueled by a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and opinions. Every leader is called upon to bring their expertise, resources, and passion to meet this moment. Therefore, it is essential to encourage and celebrate uniqueness. You must bring your authentic self, respect others, be open-minded, and honor differences