Lee Gross
A CAES alumnus with a bachelor's degree in environmental economics and management and a certificate in international agriculture, Lee Gross went on to become an international program specialist with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
What can you tell us about your studies at UGA and where you are currently living?
I live in Alexandria, Virginia, and work in Washington, D.C.
I graduated in December 2004 with a bachelor of science degree in environmental sciences with a concentration in environmental economics and management and a Certificate in International Agriculture from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
How did you end up in D.C.?
I came to the Washington, D.C., region originally for an internship in 2007, then left for a few years for graduate school, then came back in 2011 for a full-time position and have been here ever since.
Most folks come to D.C. because they are passionate about something, whether that’s politics or international affairs. It is a vibrant, diverse, international city to live in.
What has your career path looked like since graduation?
My current role is as an international program specialist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The FAS mission is to support U.S. farmers and ranchers through global agricultural trade.
I support foreign countries to strengthen their regulatory systems according to international science-based standards. As countries adopt these standards, they not only improve the safety of their food products domestically, but they become better trading partners with the U.S — it’s a win-win.
I started my career with the U.S. Forest Service in Montana during the summers while I was still at UGA.
My last year at UGA, through the international agriculture program, I went to Ecuador to live and work alongside farmers in the tropical cloud forest.
The program expanded my view of the sustainable development challenges we face. I came to Washington, D.C., in 2007 for an internship with The Nature Conservancy and stayed there for several years before heading to the University of Vermont where I earned a master’s degree in natural resources.
I wanted to research the ways in which we could better support integrated landscape management, where improved agricultural production, environmental conservation and farmer livelihoods could be in sync, not trade-offs to one another.
Following graduate school, I came back to Washington, D.C., to work for EcoAgriculture Partners, a nonprofit organization supporting integrated landscape management approaches worldwide.
I worked with partners across all types of agricultural value chains from farmers and processors to traders and retailers on big sustainability issues like agriculture-led deforestation. I learned that through strong partnerships we could better shape agriculture and food systems to serve people, food and nature.
Joining FAS in 2017 was a great step for me to apply my skills working for the U.S. government. I love my job and look forward to the rest of my professional career here at USDA.
What are some of the key life lessons and skills that you gained from your time as a CAES student?
CAES offered me the skills to become an interdisciplinary scientist. I took a lot of economics (and calculus!) courses, but I was also able to take courses in wildlife management, ecology, sociology, law and political economy.
This has really helped me think strategically and from multiple perspectives. Sustainability issues are complex and require integrated approaches to address them.
Tell us about the value of your degree since graduation — how did your time at CAES prepare you for the real world?
The USDA is a global leader in agricultural science and technical expertise. My degree at CAES and subsequent graduate studies prepared me to join the ranks of the great scientists here to produce reliable data and information and to deliver programs that have real benefits to U.S. farmers and ranchers.
As a recent example, I worked with colleagues to produce a briefing paper for our senior leadership on the economic benefits of free-trade agreements. The skills I acquired at CAES to synthesize and analyze information for this type of evidence-based decision making have served me well.
Lee Gross stands at a booth during a sustainable palm oil conference in Indonesia.
Lee Gross stands at a booth during a sustainable palm oil conference in Indonesia.
Lee Gross rides a camel outside of Cairo, Egypt, in front of the Pyramids of Giza.
Lee Gross rides a camel outside of Cairo, Egypt, in front of the Pyramids of Giza.
Lee Gross with former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
Lee Gross with former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
Lee Gross at the African Union Food Safety Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Lee Gross at the African Union Food Safety Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
What advice would you give to current CAES students?
Get out there. Get professional experience and start to build your network. Don’t spend your college summers idle — see each step as a building block in your career.
You should find a job (and a place) that excites and challenges you. Also, don’t feel like you have to work at a grassroots nonprofit organization to save the planet. You can have a positive impact working in any sector.
One of the greatest transformations of the past decade has been the integration of sustainability into private-sector business models, from fair-trade coffee to clean energy. The future will require stronger, more innovative public-private cooperation, not less.
What has been one of your favorite places you have traveled since you graduated?
Just one? I can name a few. When I was in the Forest Service, I lived in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of northwest Montana, one of the largest grizzly bear habitats in the U.S.
When I worked on palm oil issues, I traveled a lot within Indonesia, which is rich with biodiversity. When I worked on coffee issues, I spent time in Central America. The coffee landscapes of Nicaragua and Honduras are beautiful.
Lee Gross conducting research with a coffee farmer in the Dominican Republic.
Lee Gross conducting research with a coffee farmer in the Dominican Republic.
And here at USDA I had the opportunity to travel to the eastern European country of Georgia, which is like Colorado, but with sixth-century monasteries.
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