We are very pleased to welcome Mary “Bess” Lewis (ml2656@cornell.edu) to the Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development Team!
Bess is a bilingual educator who focuses on developing Spanish-speaking and ESL agricultural supervisors and managers. Born in Maryland, but having grown up in Bolivia, South America, she understands the cultural differences and communication challenges that can exist in the workforce. After studying in the Universidad Evangélica Boliviana, she transferred to Greenville University in Greenville, IL where she completed her BA in Spanish with a minor in Communications and went on to complete a Master’s in Teaching. She and her family have managed their own grain farm and owned a fertilizer, chemical and seed business in Southern Illinois. They moved to New York in 2019 to support the farm businesses of this area. She is passionate about the success of the people that work on the farms that feed our world.
Bess’s job role is to focus on teaching supervisory and leadership skills to the many Spanish-speaking team leaders, supervisors, and managers in New York agriculture. She will strengthen the leadership abilities of this key part of the farm workforce and help NY farms enjoy a more stable and successful workforce. Spanish-speaking employees will gain a new avenue to enhance their farm careers as they grow their leadership and management capabilities.
Please join me in welcoming Bess to our team!
Richard Stup
