LSP’s Dana Jackson Receives ‘Sustainable
Woman of Agriculture’ Award

CONTACT:  Denise O’Brien, Women, Food & Agriculture Network, 712-243-3264
Dana Jackson, LSP, 651-653-0618

PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a digital photo of Dana Jackson, call 612-729-6294, or e-mail bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org

2/1/08
ATLANTIC, Iowa — Dana Jackson, Senior Program Associate at the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project, has been named “Sustainable Woman of Agriculture” by the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (www.wfan.org) and Women in Sustainable Agriculture from Minnesota and Wisconsin. This is the first year for the award.

“Women have always played a major role in agriculture,” said Denise O’Brien, Director of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network. “For over 30 years Dana has helped move the sustainable agriculture community into the mainstream. She has become a mentor for many women involved in agriculture. Her commitment and passion clearly show through her achievements.”

Since 1994, Jackson has worked for the Land Stewardship Project (LSP). From 1994 to 2005 she was LSP’s Associate Director, and currently is Senior Program Associate in LSP’s Community Based Food Systems and Economic Development Program. She also coordinates the St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign. In 1976, Jackson co-founded, with Wes Jackson, The Land Institute, where she held several positions until 1992.

She received a Chevron Conservation Award in 1989 and a Pew Scholar’s Award in Conservation and the Environment in 1990.

In 2002, Jackson co-edited with her daughter Laura Jackson, a biology professor at the University of Northern Iowa, The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems, a groundbreaking collection of readings about nature and farming. Her essays and articles have appeared in numerous books and publications.

Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree in language arts education from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Jackson has served on the board of directors of numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Kansas Rural Center, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. Currently she is on the boards of the Wild Farm Alliance, the St. Croix River Scenic Coalition, and the governing council of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society. She chairs the board of directors of the River Market Community Co-op in Stillwater, Minn. Jackson lives in Stillwater.

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